A family trying to raise £7,750 to get a very special friend for their autistic son have been given a great boost by a Stourbridge charity.

Twelve-year-old Chrissy Hadley, has already been assessed for a an autism support dog who can both be a companion and a help in living as normal a life as possible.

The family has received £1,000 from Stourbridge charity the Eddie Geach Foundation and has already received some other donations, but still have around £5,500 left to raise.

Chrissy, from Dodford, was diagnosed with autism aged four and more recently has also been diagnosed with ADHD.

‘Chrissy is clever and bright but he can’t regulate his emotions and has explosive meltdowns,’ says mum Abby Hadley, 46, who is a teaching assistant at Chadgrove School.

‘He loves animals – he has two guinea pigs – and we feel the right support dog would act as a companion for him and help calm him down when necessary.’

‘Because they are trained service dogs. They are allowed into public places such as supermarkets and restaurants which would make going out as a family much easier.’

‘The dogs are trained in a bespoke way to the needs of their new owners – for example, Chrissy loves trains so the dog’s trainers will make sure his future dog is used to trains and knows how to behave on one.’

Chrissy has already met one of the charity’s support dogs, Jasper, and is now on the waiting list to be matched with a dog of his own.

Covid 19 restrictions have made holding fundraising events extremely difficult, so the family are now appealing for donations or for raffle prizes for online raffles.

Charity Tree of Hope is supporting the family in their fundraising efforts. Tree of Hope helps families to fundraise for children’s operations, therapies and equipment that are unobtainable via the NHS and provides access to a registered charity providing more effective and efficient ways of fundraising, unlike traditional crowdfunding.

To donate to Chrissy’s fund, visit https://www.treeofhope.org.uk/supporting-paws-dog-chrissy/

To learn more about Supporting Paws, visit www.supportingpaws.co.uk

Visit Chrissy’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/abestfriendforchrissy or Instagram at instagram.com/abestfriendforchrissy