Text for Matteo

This is for my grandson, Matteo. He just turned 4. He has severe Autism and has unlimited energy. And he's a runner. The Delaware County Sheriff's office has placed a gps monitor on his ankle so he can be found if he takes off. He's gotten out of the house several times because someone/anyone forgot to lock the 4 locks on the door to keep him in, and has covered 200 yards in the matter of minutes. He's nearly caused auto accidents from cars trying to avoid him running across a busy street near his home. There are bars on the windows of his home.

In the past year, he has improved by leaps and bounds. He talks now, and will actually look at someone and kind of engage in a conversation w/them. He still spins, has meltdowns, stays up all night, wrecks the house, and does anything he can to get out of the house to escape. The boy has no fear of anything. The county did provide a 6 ft privacy fence, so he can now go out in the back yard and play. He scanned that entire fence, trying to find a way out, and had such a look of frustration when he couldn't find any place. But, he enjoys the back yard, where he plays w/his brothers & sisters.

The above organization is helping Kelly raise the money to get Matteo a service dog. The service dog will help him interact more but what is more important, a service dog will protect him. If he takes off, the dog will stop him. The dog would be at his side 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Service dogs are expensive because they are being trained to do something specific for a specific individual. 13k is the cost. The organization that trains and gives the dogs homes has decided to match any funds Kelly raises to get him his dog. If Kelly can raise 8k, the organization Autism Service Dogs Of America will match it, and Matteo will begin the process of getting his own service dog. The extra money will provide the transportation cost for Kelly and Matteo to fly to Oregon for the training.

I'm asking that anyone who reads this, text the above number tomorrow August 22 and ask your friends to do the same. Times are hard for everyone these days, but, $5 isn't much if it helps the cutest kid on the planet!! (No bias here!) We're hoping that if we can get enough people to do this, Kelly can get the money needed a lot quicker.

Thank you.