Week 3

This week $730 was donated bringing the grand total to $1,045!!! Awesome! Thanks so much. If any of you want to help my mom with a fundraiser please let her know. We have a friend who would customize dog bone shaped ID tags, so we're thinking about how to "market" that. Any ideas? Let us know! Thanks again!
Aaron

***** 10% *****

BETWEEN CHECKS AND ONLINE DONATIONS WE HIT THE 10% MARK TODAY!!!! Thank you--I don't know what else to say! This is so amazing! And in case you're wondering, I'm feeling much better. I got my energy back and was running around the house like a crazy person this evening. :) Mom is going to make me stay home from school tomorrow just to be safe though. Thank you all!
--Aaron

The Flu :(

Today I got sent home from school because I've got the flu, so I can't go up to Brigadoon to see the dogs. Which means no pictures. Mom is trying to reschedule during spring break, so hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll get some pictures up. I'm going to take a nap. :(
--Aaron

New Pictures

I know I said I was going to post pictures tomorrow after my visit up to Brigadoon (and I still will), but I thought I'd put some up tonight of pictures that were taken on Sunday.

ESAR

Tonight Madison, Mom and I went to Snohomish to meet with the members of ESAR (Explorers Search and Rescue). They have kindly committed to putting together a car wash with the proceeds going to Brigadoon for my dog. I will keep you posted on the date and time! Thank you ESAR!
--Aaron

Week two

Thank you to all of the people who are visiting my blog. I can't believe how many hits there have been in two weeks. This week another $110 was donated bringing the total to $315 in just two weeks! I want to say thank you to other blogs out there who have added my donation button and information to theirs. You are all making a difference. Here are the blogs so far:

paperpassionpixels
digigrum
cubbys-corner
takealittlegivealot
glitzitnow
cutchens

Some of these people have never met me! Thank you thank you thank you!
--Aaron

First week of donations

This week $205 was donated toward my service dog! Yeah! What a great start. My brother, Cameron, even donated $5.00 of his own money! Thank you Cameron, and thank you to all of you who have already donated!!! I'm hoping to have my mom give a weekly update on our progress, but we'll see....I can't make any promises for her! Have a great week!
Much Love,
Aaron

Pictures coming soon!

We are going to Brigadoon on Wednesday the 26th for a visit. My Auntie Noel is coming with us, so expect pictures to follow. Check back to see the pictures!
Much Love,
Aaron

Contributions

Today I got my first contribution for my dog. My mom and I are so excited!!! We need to raise $5,000 for my dog. Normally these dogs cost between $10,000 and $20,000 to train. If you would like to help with Brigadoon Youth & Service Dog Programs is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible. Here are two ways to donate:

You can donate right here on my blog in the side bar
MAKE SURE YOU PUT "AARON CHOLLAR" IN THE DESIGNATION LINE!!!

OR

You can mail a check to:
Brigadoon Youth & Service Dogs
4759 Mission Road
Bellingham, WA 98226
Don't forget to put my name, Aaron Chollar, on the memo line. THANK YOU again!

Much Love,
Aaron

My Story

Hi! I'm Aaron. I'm 7 years-old and I have autism. I can't talk yet, but I'm close. I do have a little problem (okay a big problem) with running away. I'm stealthy, fast, sneaky and silent.

Because I have such a problem with escaping, I need help from a service dog to help prevent me from escaping. A dog that would block me when I was trying to run. This would help me and my parents a lot. See, it's hard to go to the park or beach because they spend the whole time chasing me (I have a brother and sister too). It's hard to go to friend and family get-togethers because they spend the entire time chasing me and can't visit with other people.

Check out my Diary of an Autistic Escape Artist for some of my escape stories. This would be an actual service dog so it could go to the store, school, and vacations with me. It would be my companion, and would help keep me safe.

The only roadblock is that a service dog is expensive. My parents have decided to go with an organization called Brigadoon Youth and Service Dogs. The fee for a service dog from Brigadoon is $5,000. That's where this blog comes into play. Getting a service dog is a long process. It will probably be 2009 before a dog could come home with me permanently. My dog is being trained by Denise CoStanten, the owner of Brigadoon Service Dogs.