Wow! Thank you so much for all your support! We are so touched by your generosity, and it literally means the world to Leo.

We’d love to send you regular updates about Leo’s journey to - and with - an assistance dog. We’ve set up a blog where we’ll post monthly, or when there’s something exciting to report. If you like, you can subscribe to it to receive every update as an email.

Find it at https://reyofhopecom.wordpress.com/

Thank you again!

We’re raising funds to get an autism assistance dog for our son, Leo. These incredible dogs provide safety, comfort, and independence for children who struggle with the world - but they aren’t funded by the NHS, and cost around £14,000 to breed and train. We’re doing everything we can as a family to raise the money, but we need help.

💙 This dog won’t just change Leo’s life: it could bring him back to life.

🧠 Leo + Assistance Dog = Hope

Leo is 12. He’s autistic - sensitive, bright, curious, and kind. He has always had a special way with animals - they seem to sense his gentle spirit. He used to love playing the violin, shooting hoops, skateboarding, cooking tasty food, building Lego, and collecting Pokémon cards.

But two years ago, the demands of mainstream school became too much. It completely overwhelmed him and he suffered a major breakdown. Since then, he’s been mostly housebound - often unable to eat, drink, sleep, or even speak. At his lowest, Leo has felt suicidal and has not been able to see any hope for his future.

His anxiety is now so severe that he rarely manages more than one short trip out of the house per week. Even small outings leave him completely exhausted. Things like showering or brushing his teeth are often too much to manage.

We’re slowly beginning to see small glimmers of hope, moments where his sense of humour, creativity, or love of animals returns. But progress is slow and fragile.

For Leo, an autism assistance dog wouldn’t just change his life - it could bring him back to life. Not just in terms of health or emotion, but by helping him to reconnect with the world around him - to feel safe to leave the house, rejoin the community, and slowly begin to engage with living again.

Despite everything, Leo dreams big. He longs to travel the world one day - to explore different cultures, experience new food, and see the places he’s only ever learned about through videos. Right now, even leaving the house is hard - but with an assistance dog, there is hope.

🐶 How an Autism Assistance Dog Will Help

Autism Assistance Dogs are amazing! They are specially trained to:

- Recognise early signs of panic or distress, and offer distraction or soothing to help their person calm down

- Comfort and protect their person if they do experience a meltdown or panic attack

- Support their person to sleep, using deep pressure and calming companionship

Just the thought of having a dog by his side, ready to protect or soothe, comfort or play, has helped Leo survive an awful year of burnout. It's been the one hope he's held on to when he felt like there was no future for him. With the support of a trained assistance dog, Leo feels confident that he will be able to return to life; see his friends, and regain some independence.

🐕 Who We’re Working With

We’re working with Autism Dogs Charity, the UK’s largest and most reputable charity specialising in autism assistance dogs. They are certified by Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK), which means their dogs are trained to the highest possible standards of safety, behaviour, and care.

This level of accreditation means that, once qualified, Leo’s dog will have full public access rights - including the ability to travel on planes, and access shops, restaurants, hotels, and other public spaces, just like a guide dog. This opens up a whole world of possibilities - even helping Leo take steps, one day, toward his dream of travelling the globe.

Leo was selected from a huge pool of applicants as someone who could benefit significantly from an assistance dog - a huge vote of confidence from experts who believe this could genuinely transform his life.

💷 Why We Need Help

The total cost of the dog, training, and placement is £14,000. There are no charities currently offering grants for autism assistance dogs, no government support available, and caring for Leo means we have had to reduce the number of hours we can work, so we’re turning to friends, family, and generous benefactors to help us make this happen.

🙏 How You Can Help

- Donate – anything, truly anything, will make a difference.

- Share this page – with friends, community groups, schools, churches, workplaces.

- Fundraise – bake sales, sponsored walks, coffee mornings – it all helps.

We’ll keep you updated with Leo’s progress and journey. Thank you for reading, sharing, and standing with us. Your kindness could bring a boy back to life.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, they will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives. If, in those circumstances, we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child, any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.