My Nonprofit Reviews

In 2010 I contacted North Star to apply to receive a service dog for my autistic son. I was overwhelmed at the specific attention that was paid to our case, and the speed at which a dog was provided. Patty at North Star works harder on quality than quantity and selects her placements very carefully. In our case as we had need of a poodle due to allergies, we lucked out as many others ask for Goldens and Labs, but a poodle happened to be just born recently when we called.

I WISH EVERYONE'S PET COUDL BE A DOG FROM NORTH STAR. The training that Lily came with even at 10 months old was remarkable, I never knew a dog could be so well behaved and calm. The changes though in my son are priceless. My son who has never bear hugged me in his life, but rather, rigidly accepts hugs, plows into Lily each day for deep pressure hugs. He whispers concerns and love into her ears that shock me. I didn't honestly know that my son had it in him! Lily has opened up a window into my son. In public the opportunities that Lily provides to increase communication is almost 100 percent from what it use to be. She is in every sense a walking therapy tool for my son. In fact we use her often at our weekly horse therapy in place of the horses and work out OT and speech situations using her. This trains my husband and I as parents to then continue that therapy in our homes, eventually eliminating the need for that outside therapy and simply using Lily in scenarios to work with our son in OT and speech and pragmatic language.

There are plenty of service dog agencies that are terrific I’m sure, but none so perfect and affordable as North Star. For a parent of autism who is already taxed in affording therapy and evaluation (I have 2 autistic sons) I consider this very important. I have run into so many people in the street who tell me they briefly looked into service animals but the 30 k cost drove them away. At a mere 5 k North Star surpasses what others can not grasp. The simplicity of letting the younger dog in the home to increase important bonding allows for this reduction of cost, as well as North Stars own diligence in fundraising much of the cost for their client. I believe that the bonding in puppy years is essential in regards children with autism and other special needs, and is not at all difficult. You don’t get handed some unruly puppy, at 10 months old our Lily didn’t dream of jumping up on a child; she sat patiently, knew how to calm down on command and understood all basic commands. If you were to offer me a 2 year old trained dog now from another agency at 30k, I wouldn’t take it. I as a parent have also found it very enjoyable and I would say calming and therapeutic for myself to be given a practically finished masterpiece in which I can add my own final touches with the help of North Stars paid trainers that they hire locally to continue you through the process. I never thought I would enjoy the classes and training, which are not overly consuming of your time as the dog is already so well trained, but enough to give you as a parent a real understanding of how to control your dog. It’s given me personally a new interest as well, Lily has served and is serving our whole family and she is not even 2 yet.

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