WHEN the world is a worrying place, a four-legged friend can make things a little easier.
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The family of Cody Marquis, 12, hopes an assistance puppy will bring some comfort to the Border youngster, who lives with autism, epilepsy and severe anxiety.
His mother, Johanne, said her online campaign to raise the required $20,000 came after “a pretty bad 12 months” for Cody.
“As he's getting older, he seems to be becoming a bit more involved in the outside world, but it's causing a lot of anxiety to do so,” she said.
“So he's struggling a lot more going out in public with those kind of changes and being around crowds.
“Strategies, they only work when he's calm.
“He can't seem to use them when he's becoming overwhelmed, because he just shuts down, loses his speech and that's it.”
The dog at Cody’s school, Belvoir Special School in Wodonga, helped at times and the family wanted an assistance dog to become a constant companion.
This is no short-term goal; even after the financial target is reached Smart Pup Assistance Dogs will take about 12 months to train the puppy.
The Queensland-based charity then provides transitional help and ongoing support for the family.
Cody’s four siblings at home also live with a range of issues such as autism and cystic fibrosis, which makes crowd funding a more practical way to raise money.
“We can't do the normal fundraising things, go out and have barbecues and stuff like that,” Ms Marquis said.
“I've got too many kids with too many needs to be able to do something like that.
“We don't have a big friend base, as you can imagine you can't really take them a lot of places or even having people in the house causes anxiety and stress.”
The Marquis family realises Cody’s campaign is just one of many good causes seeking community support.
“There is always someone out there doing it harder,” Ms Marquis said.
“But if someone wants to give us some money and give us a hand we'll be very happy to accept it.”
An assistance dog might help Cody participate more in school and other activities.
“To be part of the community instead of being an outsider within the community,” Ms Marquis said.
“Just to give him the opportunity to be like all the other kids and enjoy the simple things without the stress.
“Not a big wish.”
To support Cody, go to mycause.com.au/page/121629/codys-much-need-autism-assistance-pup.
- Read more about autism in The Border Mail Weekender on Saturday, which is World Autism Awareness Day.
