Terri Swanson, Administrative Assistant with the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University has shared the efforts of her niece, Wendy Drinkwater. Wendy is very active in the Autism community and has learned as much as she can about it. She is currently providing home schooling for the boys. When the doctors feel they are ready for public school, the boys will transition to that setting. To record the journey the family is on together, Wendy writes a blog called The Service Pups.

The CES has become involved in the newly developed Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and for this reason, Terri wanted to provide this inspiring, personal story of parents who are working to ensure their children receive the support they deserve. Wendy’s oldest son Cedric is autistic. Her youngest son Aiden has Asperger syndrome. They live in a rural area in Maine where there are not a lot of resources available to support Cedric and Aiden. So Wendy and her husband Tom decided to breed Terri’s sister’s black lab and train two of her puppies to be service dogs. Bear (the black lab puppy) is a trained Autism Service Dog. Loula (the chocolate lab puppy) is a trained therapy dog. The dogs are now 2 years old and have been a blessing to these boys.


Here is a loving preview from their Facebook page:
WE ARE “THE SERVICE PUPS” We want to educate the public about working dogs and share our smiles! We will share pictures, notes and videos of our journey. We are not an organization, we are just a family who wants to spread the word and make a difference in our boys’ world. We were born on November 30, 2010 with 7 brothers and sisters. Our mother is Eve who also lives with us. We love our boys and can’t wait to make new friends! We try to help our community! With the help of our Family, Friends & Fans we have accomplished many things!
♥ Raised over $100 for the Bully Underground Rescue Network (BURN)
♥ Raised $215 for the Autism Society of Maine
♥ The Service Pups Donated $25 to ParkerPups Cancer Campaign
♥ Raised $325 for the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation

To learn more, click on the links provided below. The YouTube site has training videos.
This is their Blog: Loula and Bear Service Pups Blog
This is their YouTube site: Loula and Bear Service Pups on Youtube
This is their Facebook site: Loula and Bear Service Pups on FB