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Autistic K9 Rocko, A Letter from Kevin Sakurai

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Autistic K9 Rocko, A Letter from Kevin Sakurai

Dear Bob,

We are overwhelmed with happiness and gratefulness for Kevin's Autism Assistance K9 that goes by the name Rocko. Rocko has made such a positive change in our son's life. Before Rocko, Kevin would tantrum when out in public. We couldn't go out to eat because Kevin couldn't wait for his food. He would yell and would climb over the booths. It was very difficult to get any shopping done for necessities and just thinking about attempting to go out in the community would cause overall stress for our entire family. Being that Kevin is not able to communicate his needs and wants, he will become very frustrated when in new situations. We couldn't even stay at our families or friends house for over an hour because Kevin would want to leave. Kevin would act out with negative behaviors and would tantrum.

Now that we have Rocko we can go out into the community with ease. Kevin is so happy to have Rocko by his side. We often don't have to prompt Kevin to get Rocko's leash. Kevin usually just does this by himself and will not let go of the leash. This has helped so much. Kevin usually wants to run around the store and will not stay by our side. Now Kevin has to stay by our side because once he tries to take off Rocko will look at Kevin and will sit down. Rocko is an 80 pound yellow lab and Kevin only weighs about 40 pounds. Rocko looks at Kevin, and it seems to us that Rocko is saying "just try it, try to move me kid". Rocko is amazing.

Life is so much better now that we have Rocko. We can go out to eat and we can get the shopping done without a problem. Kevin is starting to talk more and is learning how to share with his new friend. Kevin is becoming more independent now and is really taking charge of Rocko. We can enjoy spending time with our relatives and don't' have to leave after an hour. We can stay all day if we like because Kevin has Rocko and now he is happy to be anywhere. We feel better knowing that Kevin is safe. Rocko keeps Kevin safe in parking lot's which can be very scary for us because Kevin is unaware of dangerous situations. Rocko even attends speech therapy with Kevin and the therapist has noticed 100% improvement since we've gotten Rocko.

We can't explain how happy we are and grateful to have been blessed with Rocko. You are amazing and have helped our family so much by training Rocko so well. We couldn't imagine life without you and Rocko. Thanks so much for helping our family.

Sincerely,

Russ, Martina, and Kevin Sakurai

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