The Golden Bridge

“Even a small star shines in the darkness.”
~Danish proverb

All proceeds from this book will go to fund North Star Foundation, a 501© 3 (nonprofit) organization whose mission is to breed, train and place Assistance Dogs with children who face a variety of special challenges. The majority of our clients have autism or other developmental disorders, but we have also placed North Star dogs with children who are grieving over losses, living with life threatening illnesses, adjusting to adoptive or foster homes, or dealing with serious medical conditions. North Star dogs are bred specifically to possess temperaments conducive to working with children; they are then individually trained to meet our young clients’ unique social, emotional and educational goals.

North Star Foundation works with the therapists, teachers, and family members of the children we serve; we also educate their classmates about the nature of their challenge. We try to build bridges of understanding and empathy between our children and the members of their community, as we believe there is no better way to teach tolerance than through the eyes of a puppy being trained to help.

We pledge our commitment to help care for all the world’s children, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability or nationality. Despite the different heights of our ceilings, we all sleep under the same sky.

--Patty Dobbs Gross, Director

A FOREWORD BY DEBI DAVIS

It takes courage and great passion to be a pioneer; both perseverance and faith are needed to map uncharted territory.

In The Golden Bridge, Patty Dobbs Gross, founder of North Star Foundation, leads us on an extraordinary journey of heart and mind, allowing us an inside look at how specially trained dogs help facilitate communication for children with autism and other developmental disabilities, along with helping to support children who suffer painful circumstances in their lives that even an adult would find daunting.

Created as a guide to help parents deal with the social, emotional and educational issues of raising children with challenges, The Golden Bridge focuses on possibilities and explores the many ways an Assistance Dog can make a profound difference in their young lives. Myths and labels within the world of autism are explored, dissected and redefined; thinking "outside the box"-- pushing past barriers of intolerance and misunderstanding -- is at the heart of this groundbreaking work.

As an adult living with a physical and developmental disability, I have encountered many attitudinal roadblocks in my own life's journey. I identify with many of the struggles outlined in this book, especially the social isolation that has at times made me feel like bruised fruit on a produce stand, too often bypassed for a healthier looking specimen. Although I initially sought to use an Assistance Dog to mitigate my physical disabilities, I found that my dog became the most astute facilitator in bridging the fears and misunderstandings that separated me from the rest of society. In this capacity, my Assistance Dog has provided me with the most valuable gift of all: even out in public, I no longer feel socially isolated. People who might normally eschew eye contact now seek my attention to find out more about my dog; he is an icebreaker, a bridge, and a shared focal point to begin conversations. When my dog is with me, it is somehow safer for people to approach me than when I am alone.

Children have long been fascinated by my unusual physical appearance as a double leg amputee. Open and curious, children ask pointed questions to help understand what my life is like: "How do you drive?" "Does it hurt?" "How do you go to the bathroom?" I love answering these questions, and do not find them in any way invasive -- they are honest questions, born of genuine interest in all things new and unique. Adults, however, have learned that it's socially unacceptable to bring attention to a disabling condition, so for fear of saying something inappropriate, most find it easier to pretend I don't exist.

Having an Assistance Dog beside me as I go about my daily life opens up so many doors of communication. Dogs are child magnets, and luckily even more fascinating than my missing body parts, so conversations begin with questions about my dog. This allows the children's parents to relax, and not worry about their child asking me what they assume will be an inappropriate or embarrassing question. I am grateful for the opportunity to segue into a conversation about my physical disability, and show that I'm open to answering questions and sharing information about what life is like without having legs, and all the ways my dog helps me to stay independent and healthy. My Assistance Dog allows me to be proactive in communicating with both children and adults, and he offers me social opportunities I'd never experienced before his arrival. I've come to understand that being paired with an Assistance Dog is less about how the dog helps me physically and far more about the many invisible ways my canine partner has brought me into the mainstream of life. On days when physical pain leads to emotional overload, my dog is my silent security blanket; pressing his body next to mine and allowing me to focus on his presence in a very tactile way. The rise and fall of his chest with each breath, the soft silkiness of his fur, the gentle warmth of his tongue allows me to redirect the pain and quell emotional anxiety, preventing me from spiraling downward into depression.

It takes a special dog to be able to offer this level of physical, mental, emotional and social facilitation. In The Golden Bridge, Patty Dobbs Gross details the breeding, raising, training and placement of dogs that will become facilitators for children with a host of life’s challenges. Her unique approach of a "three way partnership" of the dog, the child and the family sets each member of the partnership up for success in a positive way. Understanding that dogs are social animals, Patty Dobbs Gross embraces the "It Takes a Village" concept of how each family member's individual contribution is essential for a successful placement. She offers a solid foundation for how this can be achieved, step-by-step. Although the book's focus is on how Assistance Dogs can mitigate children’s challenges, the advice shared within its pages will be immensely helpful for anyone involved in breeding, raising and training dogs to mitigate any type of disability at any age.

The Golden Bridge is a gift to all of us who are discovering how powerfully the human-canine bond can change our lives for the better.

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Table of Contents

Chapter Title

1. The Golden Bridge

2. Diary of an Autistic Mother

3. Danny’s Drummer

4. Animal Assisted Therapy & Autism

5. Selecting a Puppy to Work with a Child

6. Raising a Dog for a Child with a

Challenge

7. Training an Assistance Dog for a

Child with a Developmental Difference

8. Training an Assistance Dog for a

Child with Autism

9. Training an Assistance Dog for Search

and Rescue

10. Training a Dog for Seizure Alert &

Response

11. Animal-Assisted Therapy & Children

who are Grieving

12. The Path Less Traveled

13. Life as a Computer

14. Parting Thoughts

15. Our Electronic Mail Bag

16. Resources & Web Sites

17. Assistance Dog Providers

18. Recommended Books About Autism

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