Help us support Judah and his service dog Beau!
Meet Judah
Judah is a young boy from Blairsville, Georgia. At first glance, Judah seems just like most other kids. He loves being outside, swimming, gymnastics, animals, Spider Man, and Toy Story. However, the world is much more challenging for Judah than for most of us because at age 2 he was diagnosed with autism.
Judah is amazing and captures the hearts of everyone who is lucky enough to meet him. But even with all of his family, teachers, and friends constantly helping, Judah’s life has been extremely difficult. For example, Judah has no fear, so he is constantly at risk of getting hurt. Meltdowns are frequent and he often tries to run away (a common trait in autistic children known as “wandering.”) For years we were unable to take Judah anywhere … even a simple trip to the grocery store or restaurant was impossible.
This is where Beau comes in!
From the very first time Beau met Judah, a bond was formed. Beau has always known Judah needs special attention and follows him everywhere. Beau has become Judah’s best friend, and provides an emotional support that helps keep Judah calm and happy. For years Judah’s autism prevented us from taking him anywhere, but thanks to Beau we have been able to go into public as a family and take Judah places he loves, like the Zoo! In public, Beau serves as an anchor and keeps Judah happy and safe. Judah holds Beau as we walk, and Beau is also trained to alert us if Judah tries to run away – and can even track him if necessary! We want Judah to live life to the fullest and Beau is helping make that happen!
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ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Paws For Judah, Inc. is a Non-Profit 501C3
Even if you can’t help Jude out financially, you can help in other ways. If you have any ideas on how you would like to help, please contact us. Also be sure to share this page on Facebook!
How does Beau help Judah?
Keep Judah From Running Away!
Judah also has trouble understanding safety and boundaries. He is quite curious and has a tendency to run away – and has managed to run away from home number of times (a common trait among autistic children known as “wandering”). He has not ever shown fear of strangers, highways, cars, water, etc.
As you can imagine, this can be quite dangerous anywhere we go – or even at home! One particular time he ran away from home and it took over 20 people to find him. By the time he was found, the police were involved and he was was over 2 miles away!
Service Dogs for Autistic children are trained to prevent wandering and will alert us the next time he tries to run away. Not only that, but it will also be trained to be able to track him if he does manage to run away!
Allow Us To Take Him Places
Because of his special needs, even a simple trip to the grocery store can quickly turn into a fiasco, as you have to hold Judah’s hand constantly. Judah has grown up to the point where he is too strong for one person to handle alone – and since he constantly wants to run away – in a matter of seconds he can be running through a busy parking lot! This means that simple things such as going to church, going out to eat, and going to the movies are incredibly stressful and often impossible.
We want Judah to live life to the fullest. We want to be able to take him to places like the zoo , the aquarium, and even Disney World without the stresses and risks of him getting hurt or running away. A service dog will be tethered to him at all times while in public, preventing him from running away, which will allow us to take him to all these places he currently is missing out on!
Calm Him Down and Keep Him From Hurting Himself and Others
See, at seven years old, Judah can still only say a couple of words. This means that most things we take for granted are difficult for him, including simple things like asking for something to to eat, asking for help reaching a toy, playing with other kids … you get the idea.
This can be quite frustrating for him, as you can imagine, and often results in meltdowns and crying episodes that can last for hours. During these fits, he will often hurt himself or others, not even realizing what he is doing.
It is heart breaking to see Judah in such a frantic state, and the service dog will be trained to calm him down, diffuse the situation, and alert us if Judah is about to enter a state of self-harm.
Help Judah Sleep at Night
Judah has trouble sleeping and often wakes in the middle of the night. He then wants to run through the house, waking up his siblings! As you can imagine, this has resulted in countless hours of lost sleep for the rest of us, often getting only one to three hours of sleep multiple days in a row, as he requires constant supervision. Obviously, then the next couple days are often really difficult for Judah, resulting in a cycle of melt-downs and hard days at school.
The service dog is trained to become a source of comfort and security for autistic children, helping them sleep through the night, and if they do wake up – helping them fall back asleep on their own. Not only would this help with his therapy and school days, but we as his parents can better meet his needs if we have had a full nights sleep!
Accompany Judah Everywhere
Judah is constantly at risk of running away, and therefore is constantly at risk of getting hurts. The service dog will accompany him everywhere he goes. School, the playground, restaurants, etc. His service dog will be tethered to him, preventing him from putting himself in harm’s way!
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