Felicia Otness was at a birthday party when her 4-year-old son, Hunter, had a meltdown.
She took him outside the pizza place to get some air and was standing only a foot away from him when he darted towards the street.
That really drove it home for Otness that Hunter, who has autism, needs an assistance dog.
She and husband, Sean, recently began a fundraising effort to get an autism assistance dog for her son from 4 Paws for Ability. The Ohio-based nonprofit organization requires that approved families raise $13,000 to pay for their service dog.
On a recent afternoon, Hunter, now 5, ran from the kitchen table in his family’s Bellevue townhome to the living room, where a Thomas the Tank Engine train track was set up on a small table.
His 6-year-old sister, Sophie, then followed him to the refrigerator.
“Hunter boy, close freezer,” Otness tells her son, who squeals as he reaches up for a strawberry swirl ice-cream cup.
Otness hands her children each an ice-cream and Sophie sings, “Strawberry! Strawberry!”
Hunter repeats her words in a slow, high-pitched voice.
Otness said Hunter is very animated, but people can’t always understand what he’s saying.
In the past, she had noticed his limited vocabulary, but doctors told her, “’oh, he’s a boy and they are slower than girls,’ which I think is such a disservice to generalize that,” Otness said.
Last year, her mother pointed out some warning signs of autism that Hunter displayed, such as walking on his tip toes and his preoccupation with trains.
It wasn’t until Otness gave doctors the word “autism” that they tested and diagnosed him with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
“My senses have to be so heightened all the time,” Otness said of raising an autistic child.
Hunter tends to wander and is unaware of potential dangers such as traffic and the ill intentions of a stranger. If he were to become lost and afraid, he would not answer to his name being called out.
What makes parenting even more of a challenge for Otness is the fact that she suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis, which surfaced following Hunter’s birth.
“My body is so worn down,” she explained. “My wrist is fusing and I just have no control a lot of times like when I’m out in public with two children and it’s just myself.”
Often times, she won’t leave the house unless she has another adult to help her.
Her mother also noticed how hard it was for Otness to keep Hunter under control as he’s getting bigger and stronger.
So an assistance dog from 4 Paws for Ability seemed like the perfect solution to Otness. According to the organization, service dogs are raised and trained specifically to help autistic children. They are attune to the stresses of autistic children and can help intervene or even abort a meltdown before it happens.
Hunter will start kindergarten this fall in the centered program at Newport Heights Elementary. With an assistance dog, Otness knows when her son goes to school he’ll be safe and if he does run off, the dog is trained to track, she said.
In order to have a service dog placed with Hunter, the family needs to raise money for the organization to train the dog for Hunter’s individual needs. His dog also will be trained to tether him in public places to keep him safe and interrupt negative behaviors Hunter engages in with a paw or nuzzle.
In addition to autism, the organization trains a variety of assistance dogs, including for seizure and mobility assistance and hearing.
Once the money is raised and his dog is trained, Hunter and his mother will travel to Ohio for two weeks to be trained to handle and maintain his dog’s special skills. The entire process on average takes about a year to 18 months.
Otness hopes to also raise an awareness about autism.
“Autism is not like Rain Man – it’s not a bad thing,” she said.
She also wants others to know how prevalent the disorder is, especially in boys.
Assistance dogs do such a service, she added, and should be welcomed for all the things they do, not just for helping the blind.
“I honestly believe it’s going to change our lives tremendously,” she said.
Carrie Wood can be reached at cwood@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4290.
How to help
Make a tax-deductible donation to 4 Paws for Ability in the name of Hunter Otness. The money goes directly to the organization, not to Hunter. Mail to: 4 Paws for Ability, 253 Dayton Avenue, Xenia, OH 45385.
For more information, contact Felicia Otness at hunter4paws@yahoo.com or visit title=”4 Paws for Ability online”>www.4pawsforability.org to place your secure online donation.
