A Glasgow mum is hoping an autism assistance dog can change her teenage daughter's life after she stopped going to school in May last year.
Anna's 15-year-old daughter has autism and extreme social anxiety which has hampered her ability to make friends and socialise with others.
The loving mum believes that the specialised canine could give the teenager a new lease of life.
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Anna told Glasgow Live: "The dog is very important for my family because my daughter has very bad social anxiety and she doesn't go outside.
"She struggles with education and making friends. She doesn't go shopping, she has pretty much shutdown.
"We are trying to help her as much as we can. We've met a lot of people but nothing has worked. At the beginning of February my daughter sent me the link to a charity's website.
"I read some stories of how the dogs have helped people. My daughter told me that if she had one of the dogs she would go outside and go for a walk because she knows she would have to take care of the dog.
"Then she asked if she would be able to go to school with the dog."
The training programme for the vital pooches costs £20,000. Despite the price of the process Anna applied for the dog because she wants to give her daughter a better future.
The pups are trained to meet the specific requirements of each user to help them cope with day to day life.
Dogs can provide deep pressure therapy, which sees them use their body weight to give owner calming sensation when they feel distressed, remind handlers to take medication and stop their owners from harming themselves.
Following the application the family were invited down south by the Autism Dogs charity for an interview.
The mum said: "Two weeks ago we were enrolled and my daughter's dog is now being trained.
"We have to wait six to 12 months and our next step is meeting the dog to find out if it is a match for us.
"Once we find a match we have to pay the money in 24 hours so we have started fundraising because we only have a few months. I hope this will really help my daughter."
Anna understands that it is a lot to ask for but giving her daughter the chance to return to school is priceless.
She said: "I know it's a lot of money but I know people are really helpful. My daughter is very shy and finds life hard so I will do everything to make it better for her.
"I have to raise this money because there is no other option.
"My daughter doesn't have a life right now and this dog could gradually make her confident.
"She is 15 and she has a lot of life in front of her. She really loves animals, I think she might like animals more than people.
"She told me that animals don't harm or judge her."
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