Almost exactly a year ago, the community rallied in support of then-three-year-old Shane Traver, a Wareham child suffering from autism whose parents wanted desperately to get him a service dog to help him though his daily life.

Faced with a three-week deadline to raise $5,000 to secure a golden retriever pup from a December 2010 litter from the North Star Foundation (www.NorthStarDogs.com) of Connecticut, which breeds and trains service dogs, Shane's mother, Michele, and his father, Kevin, got to fundraising.

Thanks to the help of the community, including an East Wareham couple who donated $4,000 to the cause, the family was able to raise more than $10,000, which not only secured the dog, but will pay for the dog to be certified for "full public access," meaning Shane, now four years old, can take him anywhere.

The pooch, named Jake, completed preliminary training in Connecticut and then moved to Duxbury to live with his "transition family" last spring while he continues to train.

Jake's "transition home" is actually with an uncle of Michele's and Kevin's who agreed to help with the training. Each week, Jake and a Mashpee-based dog trainer visit Shane and his family in their Wareham home so Shane and the pooch can bond.

"Shane gets very excited to see him," said Michele. "He just likes to know that Jake's there. They have such a connection."

The family expected Jake to move in with them permanently at the end of summer, but the pup was not ready. Michele says the training is going well, however.

"It's going better than I anticipated. The relationship is developing now," said Michele, noting: "You can't rush these things."

On Sunday, October 2, the family completed a milestone: It participated in its first Autism Speaks "Walk for Autism" in Suffolk Downs.

Team Shake - which consisted of the Traver family, aunts, uncles, their dog trainer, and of course, Jake - raised $1,349 for the Autism Speaks organization.

"Both Shane and Jake did fantastic!" Michele said. "It was fun! Well worth it."

Michele said she expects Jake will be calling Wareham "home" before the end of the year.

"We're hoping before the holidays," she said.

Keep checking Wareham Week and WarehamVillageSoup.com for news about Shane and Jake.