According to an article on CNN, a mother and dog trainer in Georgia collaborated to raise and train a puppy to be a companion to the mother’s autistic twin toddlers.
A journalist at CNN states, “Collins would work with the puppy, Caleb, on learning the boys’ scent so he could find them when they bolted. He soon would learn to comfort them, almost instinctively, when they needed a friend.”
The pair, through training Caleb, also had to learn how autistic children thought and acted. They even made a tether for Eric, “inscripted with his name and stars, because that personalized the belt and made it his. Soon the training became natural for the trainers, Schettler said.
“‘The first time we took Caleb out and he was tethered to [Eric], the sense of freedom that child had was amazing. He was happy,’ Collins said.”

To read more and watch videos, go here:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/02/autism.service.dogs/index.html

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