Dog4Ella

                                   ******** WE DID IT! *********

In February 2022, we kicked off the Dog4Ella campaign.

In just 15 months, we hit our £10,000 target to secure a trained assistance dog for Ella, called Milo.  

Very soon he will have completed his training, taken his exams and will come to live with Ella full time. He has had many visits and Milo is already proving life changing for Ella.

As well as helping her recover from meltdowns in minutes rather than hours, with Milo by her side, Ella has been able to:

 - meet her friend in the park
 - enter a supermarket
 - take Milo for walks with out a parent
 - go sightseeing with her grandparents
 - visit a friends house

 ++++++++++++++++Additional Training ++++++++++++++++

Milo has proven so life changing that we would like to continue his training to a more advanced level than that provided by Supporting Paws.  The family have enlisted the support of a trusted local dog trainer who is prepared to visit Ella at her home for some 1-2-1 training.

This will cost an additional £2,000 which we hope to fund through grant money.

The whole family are so touched and overwhelmed by the generosity of those who have supported this campaign, and would like to thank you all for your support. 

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Ella is 15 and is autistic. She struggles with sensory processing (sights, sounds, smells) and finds everyday life so overwhelming it triggers extreme anxiety. This means the things most people take for granted are too overwhelming for Ella. As a family it has become harder and harder to leave the house and take part in daily  tasks and activities.

Going to the shops, visiting friends, getting on the bus. Her senses become overloaded, and she struggles with people’s  expectations of how she should behave. She has been home educated as she finds the environment of school such a challenge.

But Ella loves animals. We have seen how calm Ella is when  surrounded by animals.  

Ella was assessed for an assist dog through Supporting Paws (https://supportingpaws.co.uk). The difference was amazing to see.

Shopping and crossing roads are extremely stressful events for Ella. Particularly somewhere she has not been before. However, as  soon as she was given the dog, Ella instantly started to calm. With the dog by her side, she was able to enter and leave the shop. And then walk across the road with the dog guiding her path.

Following the assessment, we were fortunate enough to be selected for an assistant dog and so started our fundraising campaign.

Supporting Paws is an assistance dog organisation based in South East England, primarily providing Autism and Neuro disability support dogs. They select a pedigree dog at 8 weeks of age and train it to meet Ella’s specific needs. A dog was selected for Ella in September and she named him Milo.

The training program is about 12  months long and will cover everything from obedience to providing Ella with sensory intervention when required. Ella has met Milo twice now and is super excited to be welcoming him to our home for three weeks over the Christmas period.

We strongly believe that an assist dog would give Ella the independence she desperately craves.

Ella’s dream is to help at the local horse yard. Ella loves riding and is becoming a competent rider, as horses have the same effect for her as dogs. But sometimes just getting ready is too much of a challenge. 

But the assist dog would not only help calm her as she prepares to ride, but also give her the confidence to help around the yard too.

Please help in any way you can to enable us to achieve this dream for Ella. 7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover its core operating costs.

Should we exceed the target amount (or if we do not raise enough funds, or if they cannot be used for any other reason) the funds raised will go to the general funds of Tree of Hope to assist other sick children.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So, it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity. If you are a tax payer, please use gift aid so we get a further 25% from the government. 


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