BluePath Service Dogs, Inc, is a nonprofit organization making a positive difference in the lives of children with autism and their families by providing trained service dogs. Recently, the Petersen family in Newtown experienced the life-changing gift of receiving a BluePath service dog named Reba for their five-year-old son Wesley.

Michelle Brier, vice president of marketing and development, says that statistically about half of children diagnosed with autism are prone to wandering and that can lead to dangerous scenarios for families during public outings.

“Simple things are challenging, like going to the supermarket or going to a sporting event, because their child may wander off and get really badly injured. Our dogs work to keep kids safe,” she explained. “That safety component is why they are service dogs, but they also provide companionship, emotional support, help reduce anxiety during transitions, they improve sleeping routines — I could go on and on forever to list the ways our dogs really make a difference in families’ lives.”

Before a child is paired with a service dog, though, a great deal of training is involved to prepare the dogs.

Brier said that there is “a whole community of people” who support each and every service dog at BluePath. It starts with the person who provides the breeding dogs, the volunteers who house puppies for the first month of their lives, and the home socializers who take them in for a week or two at a time.

There are also the puppy raisers who then have the dog for 16 to 18 months. During that time, they teach the dog a variety of house manners and basic obedience, and socialize them.

Afterwards, the dogs go to volunteer foster homes and receive formal training with BluePath Service Dogs’ professional instructors. Brier said the adage of “it takes a village” is true with all these compassionate people lending a helping hand during the dog’s journey to being ready for their forever family.

“That’s part of our name. It’s about the path of connecting all of these people, centered around this one special extraordinary dog,” she said.

Currently, the majority of the dogs with the organization are Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers.

“That is because of their size, their health, and their temperament,” Brier said. “We do have our first poodle. We are hopeful that the poodles may be helpful for kids that have allergies.”

These specific breeds have proven to give children a feeling of grounding when they feel overstimulated, similar to how a weighted blanket can work.

Brier mentioned, “Our dogs learn a skill called ‘Visit,’ where they rest their head against a child’s leg or on their feet, which can really help to reduce anxiety in a stressful situation.”

That is just one of many skills the dogs are trained to do, in order to provide services for children with autism.

‘Celebrate All The Good’

On May 14, BluePath Service Dogs hosted its Sixth Annual Walkathon at Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park in Yorktown Heights, located in Westchester County, New York. It was the first time in three years that the family-friendly fundraiser took place in person during Autism Awareness Month.

More than 400 people attended the event in addition to many participating virtually. People were invited to walk a 1.7-mile or 3-mile loop if they desired.

“We also had vehicles following everyone around in case children or anyone who had enough could get a ride back to the main location,” Brier noted. “It was a very all-inclusive, friendly event for everyone.”

At the main grounds, there was fun for all ages, including vendor booths, bouncy houses, a bubble bus, food trucks, temporary tattoos, lawn games provided by Backyard Sports, and a DJ.

“We also had a ton of dogs everywhere — every type, every breed. And at least 30 service dogs’ families that we have helped, if not more,” Brier said.

The event was such a success that it greatly surpassed their fundraising expectations.

“Our original fundraising goal was $120,000 and with funds still coming in we’re at $185,000,” Brier announced.

Not only was it financially prosperous, but Brier was moved to witness so many people who have helped the service dogs at different stages of their journey come together in one place.

“What is incredible for me to see, and I think for everyone, is to see all those people come together — all those volunteers and even the donors who got to name a dog — and see them connect with the family that received the dog,” Brier said.

She added, “That dog is making a profound difference in their lives. There is nothing more rewarding than to see that dog do its job and fulfill its destiny. It makes it all worthwhile … To see them all come together to celebrate all the good that they do in the world is a really incredible thing for me.”

Newtown Family

One of those families in attendance at the walkathon was Kate Petersen, her husband, their 5-year-old son Wesley, and his BluePath service dog Reba.

“We had a great time,” Petersen said. “It was a really fun family event. Wesley went straight to the bouncy houses. There was also a bubble bus that blew a ton of bubbles and he was having the time of his life.”

She added, “It was really nice for my husband and I, also, because we got to reconnect with the other families that were in our parent training when we got Reba. And we got to meet their children, so that was really cool to see the dogs working with the kids.”

The Newtown family came out to show their support for the group that has made such a huge difference in their quality of life.

Petersen shared that prior to connecting with BluePath Service Dogs, she worked in the service dog industry for more than a decade. Once her youngest son Wesley was born, she took time off to be a stay-at-home mom.

“That’s when I got involved with BluePath, because they were looking for some assistance with administrative work on a volunteer basis. I helped them out with that starting in 2017 to support the volunteers raising dogs,” she said.

Her volunteerism evolved into puppy raising and fostering; then she became employed as a service dog trainer two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down in 2020.

“In the middle of this, about a year after I started volunteering with them, Wesley was diagnosed with autism ... It was a whole new world for us, and we were feeling a lot of fear and uncertainty around his diagnosis, and it was really nice to have this big community of BluePath staff, volunteers, former clients with service dogs, and amazing people to help us through that process so we didn’t feel so alone,” Petersen said.

Then Came Reba

In May 2021, Petersen’s foster dog Beatrice got placed with a family that lives along the Jersey Shore.

“A couple months later, I got my new foster dog Reba,” she said. “At that point we had not even thought about getting a service dog for Wesley.”

During this time, Wesley was 4 years old and did not interact much with Reba, but Petersen got to see Reba’s personality shine.

“She’s just a ball of fun energy. She loves playing fetch, she loves the pool, she’s a riot. When she’s working, she’s so calm, focused, and all about the work,” she said.

Just six weeks ago, Reba officially became Wesley’s service dog.

“They’re a brand-new team,” Petersen said.

Wesley’s bond with Reba changed almost immediately once he knew that she was his dog.

“It felt like a really big change when he started working with her as a service dog,” Petersen said. “At home he started talking about her more, and he doesn’t talk a lot, but he says, ‘Reba is a service dog.’ He wants to play with her and throws the ball with her and says ‘C’mon, service dog.’”

Even though Wesley is not at a stage where he feels comfortable to cuddle with her, he shows his love for her in his own way by sitting near her and reaching his hand out to touch her paw.

“He knows Reba is special,” Petersen said.

The transition of having Reba as a foster to a permanent member of the family has been a heartwarming experience for Petersen and her husband, too.

“I work for BluePath and would train many of these dogs and give them to their families, and it’s just incredible and eye-opening to be on the other side receiving the gift,” she said.

She notes that with Wesley’s autism he is prone to running off if he fixates on something he wants to get to — such as a shopping cart with the red plastic car piece in the front — or if he wants to get away from a situation ­— like a crying toddler.

“He can run at any time if we are in public ... Last October we were walking at Fairfield Hills, which we’ve done so many times, because he loves walking there, and out of nowhere he made a right turn into the road directly in front of a car,” Petersen recalled. “It was so, so scary. I feel like I owe that driver such a debt of gratitude, because they were paying attention and going slow and didn’t hit him.”

Things have changed, though, since working with Reba; Reba has grounded Wesley and stops him from running off. It has reduced the amount of stress and anxiety that Petersen and her husband were carrying.

“She is able to keep him safe. It’s been life-changing,” Petersen said. “It’s made our lives a lot calmer and easier, and it’s really nice because before life was really hard.”

Now the family gets to do all Wesley’s favorite things, like go for walks and visit The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, all with Reba helping make it a safe, enjoyable experience for everyone.

How To Help

Since BluePath Service Dogs is a nonprofit organization, it depends on donations from its supporters as well as help from those who are able to volunteer.

Brier shared, “A lot of organizations charge an enormous amount of money for service dogs, which makes it a barrier for some with limited financial capacity. Our dogs are provided free of charge and that is only because we have amazing volunteers and donors, who support our work. There are so many ways people can get involved in any of those roles.”

To learn more about BluePath Service Dogs, visit bluepathservicedogs.org. Also, follow them on Facebook and Instagram .

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.