Hello,

I am hoping to find someone who will be able to put me in touch with someone, hopefully in the north east of England, who breeds beagle puppies. I live in Sunderland. I have two sons and both have autsim. My eldest son 15 has Aspergers syndrome and has been asking for a dog for years now. Although both boys have autism they are both very intelligent lads and not the 'Rain Man' autistic at all.

We have spoke to both boys about owning a dog and what that means. Being autistic means they will both take the looking after of any animal very seriously. I have always had a dog myself and David can well remember this. Sadly our last dog Katie died just before I had Matthew now 5.

Sorry to give so many details but you will understand that I also need to make sure that this is a suitable breed of dog for my two children. I understand that owning a dog is a huge responsibility and that any breeder would want some background.

I have told David that the dog would be his Christmas present and while I realise that this is months away I felt it best to start looking around now. I am also aware that dogs do not have puppies on demand even for Christmas.

If anyone can help me please contact me at the following address

Carole Barber e-mail carole@autism-in-mind.org.uk telephone 0191-5490898

Many Thanks

Hi Guest I hope you wont mind me saying that I dont think a beagle is the best pet for your family . They are not the most biddable dogs in the world and sometimes they can be very hard to train . They are not very good to recall either . They are a beautiful dog but in my opinion and I mean this kindly , I dont think a hound would be suitable for your boys.I would be more inclined to go for a more trainable type of dog for the boys .I wish you and the boys all the best .Mari

maybe from the gundog group?