GREEN BAY, Wis. — Schyler Yang, 10, has found happiness with Luca, a goldendoodle puppy specially trained to help him.

What You Need To Know

  • Families with children aged 5 to 18 diagnosed with autism are eligible to receive a dog through Pawsitism

  • The organization asks families who receive a dog to raise $6,000 to go toward raising and training new dogs

  • Leaders with Pawsitism said it costs more than $50,000 to train one dog

  • The number of families looking for service dogs has doubled just within the past year

“Something special about Luca is that he’s a really happy dog,” Yang shared. “He’s happy to see people, and he’s just a really playful dog. I like how he’s calm. He’s nice, he’s gentle.”

Luca is a highly trained autism assistance service dog. He helps Yang complete daily tasks and prevents him from wandering off or harming himself.

“The only time I can get the chance to calm myself down is pretty much when he’s here,” said Yang.

Yang’s mother, Kang Vang, said her son often has a difficult time regulating his behaviors and emotions.

“Schyler has a lot of challenges, especially with regulating his body,” said Vang. “He’s very impulsive. No one knows when he is going to be escalated enough where he is harming himself, kicking other people, or breaking things.”

She said it’s a tremendous relief knowing Yang has a calming force by his side.

“Luca can sense when he is starting to escalate, so he can be that calming presence,” said Vang.

They got Luca from Pawsitism, a Sheboygan nonprofit that adopts, raises and trains autism service dogs.

Any family that has a child between 5-18 years of age who has been clinically diagnosed with autism is eligible to get a dog through Pawsitism. The organization asks families who receive a dog to raise $6,000 to go toward raising and training new dogs.

Nationwide, many families wait a long time to get an autism assistance service dog because demand for them is so high. They also are expensive. Leaders with Pawsitism said it costs more than $50,000 to train one dog.

Rebekah Hintzman is the co-founder of Pawsitism. She also runs Ruff Academy Real Life Dog Training in Sheboygan. Hintzman and one other volunteer handle all training duties for Pawsitism.

Hintzman said the number of families looking for service dogs has doubled within the past year.

Yang and his family said they feel lucky to have gotten Luca.

“When I get mad or get into an argument, I can just pet him and then he calms me down a lot,” said Yang. “He’s going to be with me my whole life. I need to have him.”

Yang’s family has created a GoFundMe page to help raise their $6,000 for Pawsitism. You can donate, here.

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