Healing Power of Pets: Family finds comfort in service dog

Jukin Media

The Tingum family were unable to go out as a family unit with their son, Garrett who has autism and would dart into the street. With his new service dog, Ruby, the family and Garrett can be comfortable outside their home.  Subscribe to The Pet Collective: http://full.sc/HbM62v Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thepetcollective Twitter: https://twitter.com/petcollectiveTV Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/petcollectivetv/ Google+: gplus.to/thepetcollective  Garrett is nine years old and diagnosed with autism. Garrett's sensory system is triggered by cars so he would often run into the street. When Garrett received his Autism Service Dog from Tender Loving Canines, Ruby has prevented him from running off. Garrett is tethered to Ruby's vest and holds onto the handle, which has eased his family's mind and  keeps Garrett out of harm's way. Since Garrett received his service dog, Ruby has opened up the entire family's life to being able to function as a unit in public.   Tender Loving Canines is a volunteer base non-profit organization. For volunteer information, please visit: http://www.tenderlovingcanines.org/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TLCAD  Special thanks to  Tender Loving Canines.

Transcript

00:00Garrett, I believe it was 19 months he got his official diagnosis, but we knew shortly

00:05after age one, we could tell he was slipping away.

00:09They didn't think he was autistic, in fact, they thought I was just, you know, what's

00:17the word?

00:18Neurotic?

00:19I don't know.

00:20Not neurotic.

00:21Too worried, I guess.

00:22But I knew.

00:23I handed him this sheet of paper and I said, this is all the things he does.

00:28And he looked at the sheet of paper and he looked at me and he said, he's autistic.

00:36It was overwhelming.

00:41Garrett has global issues.

00:43He has mild CP, which is cerebral palsy, which affects his muscle tone, so he's very clumsy.

00:50He has apraxia, which is a speech problem.

00:52Pica, which means he eats non-edible items.

00:55He also has very severe autism.

00:58So he requires a 24-hour adult supervision for his own safety.

01:03We have twin boys, Grant and Garrett, they're nine and a half now.

01:08And then we have Tori, age seven.

01:11And Ruby being our new addition, Ruby is a golden retriever.

01:15She's a very welcome added asset and I can't imagine life without her.

01:20She's our two-year-old.

01:21She's our two-year-old, yeah.

01:22But she's a very mature two-year-old.

01:25Yeah, she's a little adult.

01:28Garrett is constantly putting himself in danger.

01:30He really doesn't understand danger the way a typical child would.

01:35He will escape the house, which is one of his, the biggest issues, the safety issue with Garrett.

01:41He is constantly trying to escape and he wants to go out and run into the street,

01:48climb into people's cars, he'll go into people's homes.

01:53And his social issues, it makes it difficult when you take him places.

01:57We tend to avoid going with Garrett.

02:01You need a lot of people watching him.

02:05We're always hoping he'll get better.

02:07We hope to never institutionalize him.

02:10That's why we're trying so hard to get him all the therapy he needs now.

02:16We found Tenderloving Canines on the internet

02:19and we were so thrilled when Karen came out with one of the trainers and interviewed us.

02:25And they were the only company that was willing to take on this kid with autism.

02:30Tenderloving Canines Assistance Dogs is a non-profit organization.

02:35Leash on Life is our program for individuals on the autism spectrum.

02:40Ruby was placed with the Tingens after she completed 18 months of training.

02:45And then we could see that she was very calm, very good with children,

02:49because we had exposed her to many situations.

02:53When I took Ruby to his house for the first time, I didn't really know how she was going to react,

02:58let alone how Garrett was going to react.

03:02Tenderloving Canines really spent a lot of time with us, training us.

03:06They put a lot of care and time into making sure it was done right

03:10and that we were trained properly and that Ruby and Garrett got along

03:14and that Garrett was good to Ruby.

03:16And after she finally was placed with us in January,

03:20Tenderloving Canines continued to come into our home every month.

03:23And she's also being trained to locate Garrett when he goes missing.

03:26And she's been very, very successful.

03:29Karen from Tenderloving Canines is hiding Garrett.

03:33Karen from Tenderloving Canines is hiding Garrett.

03:36And Ruby and I are going to take a walk far away and she's going to locate Garrett.

03:43So it doesn't just end with Tenderloving Canines once you're placed.

03:47They're here forever.

03:49And we do need the help.

03:51It's very worth it, though.

03:52The payback is 10,000-fold.

03:57We live in Fort Knox.

03:59And we have, I think, one, two, three, four, five locks, alarms,

04:03and two deadbolts on the front door.

04:06And then he'll steal the keys to try to unlock the front door.

04:10Ruby is a harness to Garrett.

04:13Garrett was a waistband with a bungee cord attached to her jacket.

04:18And then there's also an additional squishy handle,

04:21which is very engaging for Garrett, just the squishiness of it.

04:25And then I'm holding Ruby's leash,

04:27so I'm in control of Ruby and directing her where to go.

04:30But Garrett cannot break away.

04:32And if he does try to break away, and he has on many occasions,

04:36Ruby is trained to brace, and she will not let him leave.

04:39So it works very well in keeping him secure.

04:43Family members actually get the calming aspect that a dog can offer as well.

04:47And if their child is calmer, they're calmer.

04:51Garrett and Ruby are a very good match.

04:55I believe very much in the healing power of pets.

04:57I've seen it. I've seen it many, many times over.

05:01Well, she's much more than just our best friend.

05:04Garrett loves Ruby, and Ruby loves Garrett.

05:07Ruby has brought a lot of joy to our family, and particularly to Garrett.

05:11He makes them smile, and he loves to sing to her.

05:18For a boy that has very little language, it's an amazing thing to see.

05:22Garrett has a friend. He's never had a real friend before.

05:26You know, you don't think of children with autism being lonely

05:30just because they can't express it.

05:32Ruby has filled that void, I think.

05:35For the whole family, it's been a real positive effect.

05:38I love having her around. She's my little shadow.

05:41Our future is much more brighter now that we've got Ruby in the family.

05:45She's going to help Garrett navigate through life.

05:48You know, all those social skills that he's lacking,

05:52it helps him communicate with people,

05:55and I think it's making him a more warm human being.

06:06He's a much happier little boy, most importantly.

06:18For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov

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