Jan 23, 2023
We are pleased to welcome in January by sharing a radio interview with Leo Long, one of our partners at
Dogs for Autism.
Leo talks to Kate Fairweather,
Petersfield’s Shine Radio presenter in a podcast for the most recent episode of ‘Dogs with Jobs’, their monthly radio programme.
Leo speaks of his incredible journey with Cashel; from his first day with Cashel at home during lockdown, to his newly found Hollywood fame in the recent Netflix release, ‘I used to be Famous’.
Cashel, a Dogs for Autism fully qualified assistance dog, helps mitigate Leo’s condition, relieving any symptoms of stress for Leo when he’s on set or on stage.
Listen to the whole interview
here.
Nov 4, 2022
Don’t miss
BBC One’s Countryfile this Sunday 6th November at 6pm.
You might have watched DfA’s assistance dog Storm and his partner Isabella on Countryfile a few weeks ago. In this week’s episode, presenter Charlotte Smith joins Isabella and Storm for a day on the farm and ramble as part of the
BBC Children in Need Ramble Appeal.
Isabella will be joined by a very special celebrity in this episode, can you think who helps her on her walk? Don’t miss Sunday’s show to find out!
Tune in on Sunday to learn more about the Ramble Appeal and how children like Isabella have been helped by
BBC Children in Need!
Oct 25, 2022
Dogs for Autism 100 Hero Jacob Bradley, has successfully raised over £1000 for the charity with a sponsored tandem skydive.
Jacob, 16 from Poole in Dorset, set about planning and raising funds for DfA with a sponsored skydive earlier this summer. From pub raffles at his parent’s local pub, The Barking Cat in Poole, to car boot sales, Jacob and his family have raised an incredible £1048 since the start of their fundraising journey. The patrons of The Barking Cat raised a total of £457 from raffle sales and a donation box left on the bar.
Not only is Jacob one of our youngest fundraisers, he is also one of the bravest! He and his tandem skydiver jumped from 15,000 feet above Salisbury Plain last weekend, the jump being brought forward by a day to avoid bad weather.
Jacob has now become one of our latest 100 Heroes for DfA! A certificate and medal for his achievement will be with him shortly. Congratulations to Jacob on his amazing jump for charity and our thanks to everyone at The Barking Cat and all those who contributed to his fundraising.
For those with a head for heights, a video of Jacob’s jump can be found on our social media channels. Well done Jacob!
If you would like to add to Jacob’s total, his fundraising page can be found here.
Oct 17, 2022
Dogs for Autism are delighted to share the news that we have three new Sponsor a Puppy pups who are available for sponsorship!
Following on from the success of the first DfA Sponsor a Puppy puppies, our three new recruits have just started their journey to become fully trained autism assistance dogs.
Casper, Bonsai and Vala have joined the Sponsor a Puppy family and are waiting for sponsors! Why not give the gift of a sponsored puppy for a loved one, for their birthday or as a unique Christmas present this Christmas?
Sponsor a Puppy from as little as £5 a month and help us transform the life of an autistic adult or child.
A Sponsor a Puppy pack makes an ideal gift for both adults and children, just let us know whether the pack will be for you, or for a friend or family member.
Why sponsor a puppy with Dogs for Autism?
Not only will you receive our puppy pack and regular ‘pupdates’, you will also be supporting the training of one of our life-changing puppies for the first eighteen months.
Many autistic people struggle with communication skills, anxiety and isolation. For these people, a Dogs for Autism assistance dog can change their lives; would you like to be part of this journey by sponsoring a puppy? To find out how, click here!
Oct 5, 2022
Come and meet the DfA team and some of our wonderful dogs at the Discover Dogs show this month!
We’re at the Discover Dogs show from 15th-16th October, at the ExCel Centre, London.
Come and meet us on stand TS232 – we’ll be opposite the main arena. Chat with the friendly DfA team and meet some of our dogs…they’ve got ‘pawsome’ puppy power!
Grab one of our specially designed Discover Dogs kids T-Shirts, only available for purchase at the show. Everyman and his dog will want one!
Sep 29, 2022
There’s no denying that some of our supporters definitely go ‘above and beyond’ for us as a charity!
DfA fundraiser, Jacob Bradley, is raising money for us this Autumn with a sponsored charity skydive.
Jacob, 16, from Poole in Dorset, will soon be jumping 15,000 feet above Salisbury Plain later in October.
With extra fundraising help from his parents, Jacob has even planned to hold a raffle with some amazing prizes including a spa day at a Hilton Hotel, a family of 4 oceanarium ticket, beer vouchers, pizza vouchers, a meal for two at Brasserie Blanc and that’s just to name a few!
Tickets for the raflle have been sold at The Barking Cat, the family’s local pub in Poole, where landlord Mark Ambrose, kindly agreed to have a collection tin just for Jacob’s skydive. The pub has been collecting donations from their customers, and in less than five weeks have gathered more than £150 in cash donations.
Jacob, who one day wants to be a pilot, has always wanted to take part in a jump, so when he learnt of DfA and the work we do, decided that now was the time to raise money for a charity that helped people with autism. We wish Jacob the very best of luck for his skydive on 23rd October!
You can help Jacob reach his fundraising target here:
https://dogsforautism.enthuse.com/pf/jacob-bradley-bc08e
Sep 22, 2022
Dogs for Autism trainee autism assistance dog ‘Aero the Hero’, features in this Autumn’s Vanity Fur Magazine!
Aero has just turned one and is trained by Joe Nutkins, her puppy parent and KC accredited dog trainer on the Essex/ Suffolk borders.
When Aero qualifies as a fully trained autism assistance dog, she will go to live with Harry and his family. Harry and Aero have been slowly introduced to each other during the past six months and Aero will one day go on to help Harry fulfil his full potential, helping him with the specific tasks that he may otherwise find more challenging due to Autism.
We can’t wait to read all about Aero’s story in this season’s edition of the magazine, available to buy online or from the high street.
Sep 21, 2022
Jingle Jam – the world’s biggest games charity event – is returning for a 12th year! We are so excited at Dogs for Autism to be one of their chosen charities this year!
The money raised will springboard our ‘Autistic Youth Independence Programme’, transforming so many more lives, one cheeky puppy at a time!
Bringing together the whole gaming community from the 1st to the 14th of December 2022, streamers across the globe will raise funds for twelve deserving charitable projects – both in the UK and internationally – while sharing the hugely popular Jingle Jam Games Collection. Since 2011, the events have raised a staggering $25 million for dozens of great causes and showcase the huge generosity of gamers, streamers, publishers and developers..
Lewis Brindley, co-founder of Jingle Jam and The Yogscast said:
“We always look forward to this time of year – it’s so great to see everyone pitching in to raise an incredible sum of money for some amazing causes. We have some fantastic projects this year and the money raised through the generosity of the gaming community will have a massive impact. We want 2022 to be the biggest year ever – and to do this we need to get even more people involved in streaming their own Jingle Jam streams during the first two weeks of December.”
Organised and hosted entirely by volunteers, in the first week of December last year twitch.tv/yogscast was the biggest channel on Twitch. The opening three-hour stream of Jingle Cats was watched by over 1m unique viewers and the event is featured heavily on the Yogscast YouTube network and social media platforms with tens of millions of subscribers.
Last year also saw 215 community fundraisers as other creators, charities and games companies ran their own Jingle Jam streams, raising over £480,000. This year anyone will be able to register from 1 December on Tiltify and take part.
This year’s Jingle Jam fundraising period and Jingle Jam charity games collection will support Dogs for Autism, as well as 11 other amazing charities, supporting disabled access to gaming and sport, neurodiversity, cancer research, mental health, tackling bullying, LGBTQ+ issues, and sustainability.
You can keep up to date with all things Jingle Jam on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jinglejam
Follow the official Jingle Jam livestreams in December at https://www.twitch.tv/yogscast
More information at https://www.jinglejam.co.uk/
Sep 8, 2022
Sep 7, 2022
DfA partner Isabella and her assistance dog Storm appeared in the first of
BBC Countryfile’s Ramble Appeal Films broadcast as part of their anniversary show to mark 100 Years of the BBC.
Isabella filmed with the cast and crew of the show earlier this Summer, her film being the first of Countryfile’s Ramble appeal films, on behalf of
BBC Children in Need.
Isabella talks about how her life has been transformed thanks to her specially-trained assistance dog Storm and how he has been a help for both her and her family since Storm moved in!
Storm has been a particular help for Isabella by managing some of the aspects of her autism. Storm has helped with the specific morning tasks that previously hampered the family’s morning routine. Storm’s has enabled Isabella to more easily manage the disabling morning meltdowns that she used to experience. He helps Isabella get up out of bed and get ready in time for the school run. The Ramble Appeal film goes on to explain how Storm is now a valued member of their family.
Children like Isabella are benefiting from the incredible funding that Children in Need gives as an annual contribution to our charity.
If you’d like to help with the BBC’s Countryfile Ramble on 8th & 9th October this year, please visit their
website.
Aug 18, 2022
DfA are delighted to share in Leo’s success! Leo is one of our autistic partners and an incredible young actor.
Leo will be making his screen debut in the soon to be released Netflix film, ‘I used to be Famous’ due for release in September 2022.
Leo, who plays Stevie in the role, is an up and coming young actor, already known for his theatre work and commitments with the National Open Youth Orchestra , who stars alongside Ed Skrein as one of the two main characters in the film by director Eddie Sternburg.
Leo, talented DfA partner, musician and young performer, lives with his DfA autism assistance dog Cashel.
Leo is a creative musician, young performer and sportsman in his spare time, but he still has lots of time for his wonderful assistance dog Cashel when not on set! Autism assistance dog Cashel helps mitigate Leo’s autism, helping him with the specific everyday tasks that he may find challenging.
The film is due for release on Netflix on September 16th! 🌟
Congratulations to Leo and the cast of the show, which highlights the incredible talents people with autism have.
Well done Leo, you’re a super-star at DfA! 🌟 🙌 🌟 Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7zP4ccVxYY&t=34s
For more information about our work at Dogs for Autism, to get involved, sponsor a puppy or be one of our 100 Heroes, please visit our website: www.dogsforautism.org.uk
Aug 10, 2022
I am raising money for a local charity based in Alton Hampshire who train dogs for people with autism (more details below).
I gave birth to my first baby in august 2018 a little girl Olivia. From a very early age I noticed certain things within her development and her development was delayed. I started Olivia at a preschool at the age of 2 and an amazing person called Danielle also picked up on her delayed development and needs. I managed to get a referal to paediatrics and an assessment on Olivia took place in November 2021 and she was diagnosed. I’m a paediatric nurse and know that autism affects a lot of children and families. I chose this charity purely because it’s local to me and money raised will help so much.
I would love my Olivia to be able to watch me but I’m not sure how she would cope so time will tell if she will be watching or not.
Any donation no matter how small is amazing and thank you from me, Olivia and the charity.
Dogs for Autism train and provide assistance dogs, at no charge, for autistic people of any age whose lives will be significantly enriched by such a partnership. Our mission is to have a positive impact on the lives of autistic people and their families, to empower autistic people to realise their individual potential, improve their access to their chosen communities, and to enhance their emotional and physical well-being.
