A New Friend

As many of you know, William lost his dog and good friend Will a few months ago.  They were very bonded together and inseparable when at home.  She was a good therapy dog for William.  He needed her in his life as much as she needed and loved to be with him.

William wears a back brace most of the time because his back bothers him from helping me lift Antonio so much.  Bless his heart.

William has many health issues.  Autism and the learning disabilities that come with autism, are the hardest to cope with daily.  Part of him having autism, is that he has very high anxiety.  Anxiety that most of us would not understand having to live with.  Often, when someone has autism, they have certain things that bother them tremendously all day long.  Irritation they have to learn to live with.  For example...nails on a chalk board irritate and hit a nerve in certain people?  It would be like living with that sound, going on all day long around you.  Certain sounds, clothing textures, change in his routine and also trying new things are some things that bother William.  Plus, he is a worrier.  He worries about everything.  Things like, how he will pay for a repair on his truck if it were to happen and such.
 

We try to keep Williams (and Zekes, who also has autism) life as low key as possible.  We try to stick to routine as much as we can.  But yet gently encourage them to get involved and do new things.

This anxiety and worrying plays into the health issues he has been struggling with for several years.  When he works to hard, goes out into the heat, gets stressed or does anything that gives him a heavy anxiety load, it causes his cortisol levels to plummet and his blood sugar to fall.  It plays into his chronic hypoglycemia.  When this happens, he has trouble thinking, talking, walking, he gets exhausted and can not drive or function.  He calls these episodes crashes.  We have not found out all that is wrong with him but the anxiety plays heavily into it all.

Tim and I have seen a lot more anxiety and health crisis, while his dog was sick and since she passed away.  We have been waiting for him to go thru the process of grieving but he has not seemed to be able to get through it.  He has been very low all the time, has had daily "crashes" and I have had to drive William every where he has needed to go for the last several months.  I think he has taken the trash to the dump for me four times and that is all the driving he has done.  

I decided that it was time to try him with another dog (friend) and see if that helped him.  I have been searching for a month for the perfect match for him.  I have been searching for a small, young, indoor dog that is calm and would make a good therapy/lap dog.  I checked our local animal shelter daily as well as  many other rescue sites.

Last week, I heard of a situation where a couple had rescued two young dogs from a bad situation.   They had heard whining coming from a small outdoor kennel in their neighbors yard a few months ago.  They went to see what was happening and two, small, puppies had been put out there. A female miniature long hair dash hound and a small male chihuahua.  They had no food or water so the couple fed and watered them.  They regularly heard whining out there and went out to check on the dogs.  They regularly had no water and food that was often covered with ants or wet from the weather.  There were two small pieces of ply board put up like a t-pee for shelter for them by the owners.  The couple started to daily feed and water the dogs.  When the temperatures started to fall for winter, they asked the owners if they could have the dogs.  The owners said yes.  The couple took them to the vet and found out that the young female was pregnant.  So they worked on house breaking and socializing the two dogs until the female had her puppies.  I learned of the situation when they were trying to find homes for them all when the puppies were weaned.  The dogs are both only about eight months old now.  The dashound had five puppies.  The couple told me what a wonderful personality the dashound has.  Very laid back, gentle and sweet.  They said we could bring her home with us for a visit and see if she was a good match for William.  William and I went to pick her up at the beginning of the week.
 

William and Dixie have hit it off wonderfully. 

I can tell he is much more relaxed and Dixie is so bonded to him that when he is not home, she finds his shoes and sleeps on them till he gets back. 

She is very sweet and loving and has the softest red fur. (Very snugly and lovely to pet.)  Her eyes are a deep chocolate brown and soulful. 

Tim and I saw a difference in William right away.  He has been focusing on her and her comfort and happiness. 

Friday night, movie night.

He seems happier and less stressed.  William was able to drive to town, to the GED program he is enrolled in, alone and do some errands all by himself with no issues by the end of the week.  God is so good!

We are going to give Dixie a month to settle in and then take her in to have her fixed.  She is a very sweet girl and I am grateful to God that William has made a new friend in her.  William is such an obedient, kind and helpful young man.  He loves the Lord and serves Him in all he does.  He still misses his old dog Will but it is good to see him happy again.

Jeremiah 29:11-13  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

blessings,

susan