Dogs to help autism - Cheap pet insurance

Posted : 11-06-2008

A charity has received £88,000 in funding to train dogs that help people with autism.

Dogs for the Disabled will use the money to train eight dogs to help autistic children, in the first UK project of its kind.

It takes around two years to train an autism assistance dog, which results in the animal being able to act as a guide and anchor for a child, and successful projects overseas have shown it can bring benefits to the child and their family.

The charity suggests once a family has an autism assistance dog there is more chance they can undertake 'normal' activities such as holidays and trips to the supermarket.

Peter Gorbing, chief executive of Dogs for the Disabled, commented: "Since we launched the news of our autism project this year we have been inundated with enquiries about the service."

He also reiterated that while the funding will allow for eight dogs to be trained, there are "potentially hundreds of families" which could benefit from the animals.

Dogs for the Disabled was founded in 1988 and is the only charity to train assistance dogs for disabled children, with the animals even able to carry a pupil's bags to school.

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