My name is Lanaye, and I am Jaces mom!

It was a bright Tuesday morning, and our 5 year old kiddo Jace was riding his bike In our cul de sac. He is so fast now that he has mastered his 16” tires with no training wheels Lightning McQueen style bike! 

I was in the front yard so I could keep an eye on him, and was also pruning our trees. I turned away for just a second to roll our big trash can over to where I was, and I glance back around the circle to make sure Jace was still there. Except he wasn’t...

Jace had decided to take it upon himself to go all the way around our large block, alongside a very busy street of cars going 50+ mph, and I could not catch him. Not even if I was in the best shape of my life. 

I had decided that my best bet at that point was to tail around the opposite direction and catch him that way to bring him back to our circle.

You may be thinking to yourself at this moment in the story- so yeah what’s the big deal?! He just went around the block by himself and came back home...? 

And this is where Jace’s reason for a story comes into play. Jace has autism, and processing disorder to the point where he does not understand moving cars as dangerous. In fact, it’s the opposite! He loves cars! Hence his Lightning McQueen bike from the Disney movie Cars. 

My husband, Scott, and I, are working very hard on raising enough funds to receive a therapy dog for Jace. Not just any dog... a dog that can track him so that when he runs off, someone can catch him. He is going to grow older, and faster, and braver, and I am scared to death that his journey will end short because of this. 

We are looking for help from you wonderful people because as our friends, I hope you understand that we would buy a therapy dog outright if they didn’t cost so much. We want our son to live a long and healthy life, and the devices that can be purchased for tracking your kid, well we have tried them all. Angel Sense, Jiobit... a watch... and they just do not work in real time. Heck, some only work off of cell towers! Seriously!!? That is not going to help us in the foothills of Utah! 

we are a military family, and we move around a lot... like... A Lot! Jace has lived in 4 different houses since he was born, 5 if you count my pregnancy with him... so it’s no wonder he is so oblivious to things around us. We aren’t in one place long enough for him to understand the dangers around.

I also am going to stop your brain right there.... of course we have him in in person therapies. Yes... even during COVID... this kid attends ABA therapy for his autism 15 hours a week, and an additional 2 hours a week he spends working with Occupational Therapy and Speech therapy because I did forget to mention up until now that he is deaf. 

Fun fact: it took over 6 months to get him into therapy for his autism... and another fun fact- we have to leave Utah soon because my husband made rank, which is known for bringing orders to somewhere fresh and new. 

Shortly, Jace is going to have to have everything ripped from him once again... learn a new house, a new neighborhood... be judged for being autistic from new neighbors... and as his mom, I would really love for him to experience all of the wonderful things that a therapy dog can offer him.

An autism therapy dog can provide him with the loyalty and understanding that he truly needs no matter what the situation, or where we go. 

You see... it hasn’t been just this one time that he has ran away... this is the 5th time that I can recall where he has put his life in real danger. Those are stories for other times.
we have had to
do neighborhood searches, involve neighbors, and put up an ungodly amount of locks on our doors that I worry will actually become a hazard to our family if we were in need of escaping from a fire in the middle of the night. 

I love Jace, and we need this dog for him. We have over $12,000 to raise still, and are in desperate need of your help. 

side note- my birthday is on August 13th, and I would love the gift of donation for our boy 🥰