Despite a chilly start, the PAWS of Honor Festival drew dog accessory and services vendors plus people with a variety of canine-related interests as the sun warmed The Villages Polo Club acreage on Saturday. A wide variety of four-legged creatures were out in force as well, prompting ‘oohs and aahs’ from the crowd.
The event was organized by Ellen Richard Clark of Sorrento to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the role specially trained canines can fill to help children and adults with medical and emotional afflictions.
Clark announced receipt of a $5,000 grant from the Autism Specialty License Plate Fund via the Autism Services Grants Council — given to Dream Acres for Autism, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 program. “The funds will be used to help match and train children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and qualified rescue dogs — to become part of autism service dog teams,” program director Clark explained.
“There is a long waiting list of autistic children to potentially participate in the program. Only about one-fifth of the children (13 of 61) who have applied were able to receive needed funds during this cycle,” Clark added. Costs to match and train a dog for one autistic child are at least $5,000, and about $300,000 would have been needed to address all 61 applicants on the list.
The autism spectrum disorders label encompasses a category of neurodevelopmental maladies which can affect behavior and cognitive development to varying degrees. Autism dogs learn to assist in many ways, to help keep patients’ symptoms under control. They help their owners remain calm and can prevent outbursts and meltdowns. Additionally, they help sufferers and their caregivers to feel more secure and happy.
Mark Hollenbeck, from Belleview, brought his silky spaniel/King Charles mix, ‘Marley’ to the ‘Dog Walk-A-Thon.’ ‘Don’t believe anyone who tells you dogs don’t help people,” Hollenbeck said to dog accessory vendor, Ann Ward, from Summerfield. “About three and a half years ago, both my Mother, who lived with us, and our beloved cocker spaniel ‘Jet,’ passed away at just about the same time. Suffice it to say we were extremely distraught. Then we found Marley, or actually Marley found us. He was just a puppy, but he jumped up and kissed me on the neck. It was instant love. My wife, Mary, and I went right to the bank for money to buy Marley. He has restored happiness to our home. I could write a book about this dog,” Hollenbeck, who has dozens of photos of his new pet on his phone, said.
The Collazo family, parents Luis and Tanya, and their daughters, Lilou and Aveca, were there from Sanford. Their 20-month old standard poodle, ‘Simon,’ is training to be Aveca’s autism dog. “He’s still a puppy,” Tanya said, “but he’s learning not to jump, and already, he helps keep Aveca calm.” “Aveca has a high functioning form of autism,” Luis said, “but she still has meltdowns. Simon is good company for our whole family, When my daughter is having a bad day and wants to bolt, Simon pulls her back. Her occupational and behavioral therapists say the dog has been a big help.”
A number of children and young adults with autism were thrilled to receive certificates, medals plus emblems for their service dogs  and emotional support animals’ collars. In addition, Chatham Village resident, Howard Horwitz, and his AKC THDD therapy dog ‘Dice,’ were recognized for making more than 700 visits to sick and disabled patients in local area health care facilities.
“Some pets and rescue dogs can be trained for special duties in our community,” program coordinator Jovon Howard of Gainesville said. “They can help find elderly persons who wander away from home, lost children and hikers. Dogs can also be trained for people with seizure disorders, balance and ambulation problems, They are just wonderful, and they make everyone in the household happy.”
“To have an emotional support animal (ESA),” Clark added, “a person must have a prescription from a physician, a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, and the dog must qualify through special training. Certified dogs with vests can travel in airplane cabins with their owners and are permitted to live in no-pet housing as well.”
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy, Jodi Bowlin, was given an award by program coordinator, Debi Zacharias, for her work with K9 golden retriever ‘Cooper,’ and military dogs in Iraq were also cited for their bravery.
Bonnybrook Village residents, John and Marge Curtis, along with Carol Bellavia, from Briar Meadow Village, with Greyound Adoptions of Florida, brought ‘Buddy,’ ‘Trixie’ and ‘Zipper,’ to the meet. They chatted with Sandy Thorwarth of Summerfield, who was there with her Shih Tsu, George. “We call these greyhounds our gentle giants,” John Curtis said. “They can be trained to be fine with smaller dogs and cats, and can be surprisingly easy to care for. When people call us to adopt, we try our best to match the energy level of the person and dog,” www.ahome4greys.org.
To raise funds, an affordable ‘quarter auction’ for dog-related prizes plus a silent auction were held.
PAWS of Honor Festival Funds for this and future grant cycles are generated through the sales of Florida autism specialty license plates — and this event is one way for the people in our community can personally see how their donated funds through the autism tags are at work in our area.
