Important news: Lynyrd has been refused access to Alex's school by OCDSB.  We are stunned by this development.  I've explained more fully in this post. If you'd like to help, you can contact your local OCDSB trustee and tell them that you support autism service dogs in school and are opposed to policies preventing them.

Lynyrd is an autism service dog and Alex is his special boy.  He was trained by National Service Dogs for two years before being assigned to our family.  Aside from being an amazingly well-trained dog, Lynyrd has also been taught to help keep Alex safe and help him stay calm.

Lynyrd is our family's second service dog.  The dogs have been provided to our family at no cost to us.  National Service Dogs does not receive government funding and relies on donations to cover the $30 000 cost to raise and train a service dog.

Dogs like Lynyrd make a huge difference in the lives of families with autism.  If you'd like to know more about service dogs, please visit the National Service Dogs website.  If you'd like to know more about how Lynyrd helps our family, we have some pictures and stories posted here talking about our adventures in the world of autism.  And if you'd like to make a difference and help families, it would be greatly appreciated if you would make a donation to National Service Dogs.

Keep reading for some photos and examples of how Lynyrd has helped our family.