GIVE A GIFT, CHANGE A LIFE
My name is Joshua. I love my family, we are very close. And I love that I have been with Raising Hope Dogs since Frisco first came to my house in 2013. I have Impossible Dreams I can't wait to share with you!
Hi! I'm Joshua. I'm 13, and I love Star Wars. The Imperials are awesome and Darth Vader is intense. I've been with HopeDogs since the very beginning. I love it. I love playing fetch with the dogs, especially Secret. She's so fast and very loving.
Joshua is a true delight to spend time with. He is articulate, intelligent, and quick-witted. Autism is nearly a sidebar in his life. In fact, he just recently learned that he has this diagnosis and has been integrating his new learning about it in the most thoughtful ways.
Making friends -- having a group of people he feels close with and can share important life moments with -- is a deep seated dream he is just now realizing, as he is entering into his teen years. His first Impossible Dream was to have the biggest and best (No Mistakes!) birthday party ushering in his 13th year. He had an amazing surprise party at HopeDog Challenge Summer Camp. It was a significant first for him: before joining Raising Hope, he never had a friend group to invite to birthday celebrations. Joshua is thrilled that quiet birthdays from here forward will forever be a thing of the past. His serious commitment (4 of 4 seasons!) to HopeDog Challenge has afforded him an incredible opportunity to build genuine friendships with his peers, and share in a significant mutual effort together. The dogs -- and playing cool games with them! -- is captivating common ground.
Joshua talks with great passion about his depth of interest in video games. Seems typical right? Any junior high boy loves video games. But Joshua takes it one significant step further. He notes the artistry in video games and is intrigued with the skill that is required to create the images. He hopes to create his own video game one day! To begin this Impossible Dream, his first step is to learn art. Once he has accomplished noteworthy learning, his generous open-heart nature will lead him to innovative ways to give back to Raising Hope Dogs.