22/08/2026
🐾💙 Meet Lola 💙🐾
We recently had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Lola for her first home boarding stay. Lola is a very special girl — she is a retired autism-trained service dog who has spent part of her life supporting and helping someone with autism.
Autism assistance dogs are specially trained to support individuals in many different ways. Depending on the person’s needs, they can provide comfort during overwhelming situations, help with emotional regulation, encourage independence and offer reassurance in unfamiliar or stressful environments.
One of the incredible skills some autism assistance dogs are trained to provide is deep pressure therapy. This involves the dog applying gentle, controlled pressure by leaning against or lying across a person, which can have a calming effect during moments of anxiety, sensory overload or distress.
They can also be trained to recognise signs of stress, interrupt repetitive behaviours, provide grounding support, help with routines, and create a sense of safety and confidence for the person they support.
Dogs truly have an amazing ability to understand and connect with us. Their patience, loyalty and unconditional love can be life-changing.
Although Lola is now enjoying her well-deserved retirement, she still has that wonderful gentle nature and caring personality that made her such a special companion. It was a privilege to have her stay with us and to learn more about the incredible work autism assistance dogs do.
Thank you, Lola, for reminding us just how amazing our four-legged friends can be. 🐾
