Hi, and thank you for taking the time to read Matteo’s story. Matteo is our 6 year old son who loves music (specifically Beatles songs), warm weather, being in the pool, jumping on the trampoline, and swinging at the park. He is a very loving, happy, and sweet kid who always wants tickles.
When Matteo was 4 years old he was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and developmental delay. It’s not the news any parent wants to hear, but once we accepted our new reality, we were committed to giving Matteo the best life we possibly could and hope that one day he will be independent to some extent. We were very lucky to find Blue Bird Therapy School in Chicago where Matteo goes every day and receives Speech Therapy, OT, Physical Therapy, and ABA. His amazing therapists push him daily to work hard and keep improving. Matteo has made some incredible gains in the last 2 years, but he has a long way to go.
Although Matteo is a very strong willed kid and knows exactly what he wants, he struggles with communicating his needs. He also struggles with sleeping through the night and anxiety. Matteo’s older sister is going to leave for college in about 3 years and then he will be all alone. These are just a few of the reasons why we decided to turn to 4 Paws for Ability and apply for Matteo to get an Autism Assistance service dog. We hope that having a service dog will help him with communication, sleep, getting through tough emotional times, and most of all he will have a friend to play with and learn how to take care of.
It costs 4 Paws between $40,000-$60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog. Our family is asked to raise $23,000 of that to help pay for the service dog. Thank you for reading Matteo’s story and thank you in advance for your help. Your contribution will get Matteo his service dog and make a huge difference in his day to day life.
If you would like to support Matteo you can donate directly to 4 Paws for Ability. You can click on the link below or write a check. Be sure to write Matteo’s name on the memo line. Mail checks to:
4 Paws for Ability
In Honor of Matteo Dos Remedios
207 Dayton Avenue
Xenia, OH 45385
Contribute to Matteo’s dog below
Training a service dog to meet our child’s requirements can be very costly. On average it costs between $40,000-60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog at 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to help cover a significant portion of this cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000 of that amount or $23,000 if receiving a poodle, doodle or papillon. We hope that we can receive assistance from our beloved family and friends to help make our service dog dream a reality.