Eli's assistance dog Taffy

Eli is 6 years old and is a son, a brother, a student, and a friend. Eli was born with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. Eli cannot walk, talk, or sit and requires a power wheelchair to get around. Eli requires 24 hour care by his widowed mum Simone who sadly lost her husband James when Eli was 1 years old. Eli has a very helpful older brother Sean and a great circle of friends. Eli doesn't have any oral language so building networks and friendships can be challenging.

Eli received his assistance dog Taffy in August and there was an instant friendship and Taffy is very at home with Eli and his family. Taffy will not only change Eli's life by being a mate that will always be by his side but also take some pressure of his mum by doing simple chores like picking up Eli's toys, keep Eli as safe as possible, go get help, walk alongside the wheelchair, wait with Eli, and even retrieve the TV remote! So having a companion dog for Eli is something that will change his whole family's life. The biggest life change will be that Eli will always have a mate by his side.

Assistance Dog NZ provided Eli with Taffy but his family now need to raise $20,000 for the ongoing training and support of the dog over his lifetime (approximately 10 years). This includes regular home visits to ensure all family members know how to work together with Taffy, to take Taffy, Eli and his family out into different environments and to ensure that Taffy continues to evolve when the needs of Eli change.

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