A boy's best friend - amazing story about a working dog

A boy's best friend: Canine companion helps child cope with autism

By BEA LEWIS

Staff Writer

bwheel@metrocast.net

Article Date: Sunday, April 20, 2008

Five-and-a-half-year-old Brian Newman is the envy of his kindergarten class — he gets to bring his dog to school.



But Josie, a 1 1/2 year-old dog, isn't a typical canine. Autism Service Dogs of America in Lake Oswego, Ore., trained her.



Founded in 2002 by Priscilla Taylor, ASDA is a nonprofit that helps families with children who have autism. Autism is a neurological brain disorder that typically begins within the first three years of life and persists throughout adulthood. It affects the areas of the brain controlling language, social interaction and creative and abstract thinking.



People who have autism typically have deficiencies in verbal and non-verbal communication and social skills.



Brian wasn't diagnosed with the disorder until he was 3, but his parents' first inkling that he might have a problem was when he turned 2 and was saying only four unintelligible words.



Placing a dog with a child who has autism provides a calming presence, reducing emotional outbursts, among other benefits, Taylor says.

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Brian Newman, who has autism, sits with his sister, Gabrielle, and Josie, a mixed-breed autism service dog.

Brian has many hallmarks of autism, according to his mother, Christine. He frequently flaps his arms and easily gets fixated on things that spin. A trip to a supermarket can turn nightmarish as Brian finds the television monitors for the store's security system and becomes spellbound watching himself.



During other outings, he sometimes finds it amusing to run away, and his mother said it's challenging, even with both parents, to keep him corralled.



The backyard of their Reed Road home in Alton is encircled with chain-link fencing and secured with gates. After Brian let himself out of the house and wandered down the road, Christine said, they put sensors on doors that make the doorbell chime every time a door is opened.



She also has notified 911 Emergency that her son has autism and is prone to wander so if he becomes lost, dispatchers already would be aware of the circumstances and be able to quickly direct searchers.



ASDA asks that families seeking a dog pay $13,500 to help defray training costs.



Christine and Brian's father, Neil, asked the community for help in acquiring the dog. The community responded by raising more than $17,000 for them to buy the dog and pay for airfare to travel to the Pacific Northwest to pick it up and have a trainer come to their Alton home to oversee the pairing.

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Christine Newman and her daughter Gabrielle wait for her brother, Brian, to get off the bus Josie, a mixed-breed autism service dog that accompanies him to school in Alton daily.

Josie is a black-and-tan colored Labrador retriever, golden retriever and German shepherd mix. She and seven littermates were donated to ASDA. Each spent about six months with a volunteer family who extensively socialized them and taught them basic obedience skills.



The fostered puppies then were returned to ASDA headquarters, where their specialized training began.



While the routine of school and the help of a one-on-one educational aide have improved Brian's behavior dramatically, the Newmans said they wanted to get him a service dog to ensure his safety and foster social interaction skills.



He's now reading, got his first professional haircut without putting up a struggle, tells his mother he wants "red grapes" as a snack and offers a "thank you" after he reaches for the fruit-filled bowl and realizes she won't release it until he recognizes her efforts.



Josie wears a special nylon "vest" emblazoned with the ASDA moniker. It buckles around her chest and beneath her belly. The vest has two roomy pockets, and Josie can carry her own water supply, a collapsible water bowl and doggie toiletries. A strong nylon strap with an adjustable Velcro loop also is secured around Brian's waist, tethering him to the dog.



During outings, Brian could run into traffic or find himself in another potentially life-threatening situation, his parents said. Josie has been trained to ignore Brian's commands and only respond to Christine or Neil as they hold the leash.



During her training, Josie worked with a "typical" child and was exposed to escape attempts, which she stalls by lying down, and even public tantrums, which she endures with a wagging tail.

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Brian Newman, who has autism, plays in his backyard at home after returning from school.

Since the dog joined the Newman family, Christine said, it has helped them become much more mobile. She said just going grocery shopping used to be a monumental task with both Brian and soon-to-be-3-year-old Gabrielle in tow.



Now Christine is able to push a shopping cart down the aisles with her daughter in the child seat and Josie on a leash, with Brian tethered to the dog.



While conceding the foursome turns some shopper's heads, Christine said most people quickly realize Josie is a dog at work. Some even approach her and ask about the unique pairing.



"I can get out of the car, hook Brian to Josie and then be able to get Gabrielle out of the car safely," she said.



Newman said the outpouring of support for the fund-raising efforts that let them to buy Josie overwhelmed her. With the help of a website, co-workers, family members and friends, the Newmans raised the money in just four months.



"It was unbelievable. I never thought we could raise so much money so fast," she said.



During a fundraiser at Patrick's Pub & Eatery in Gilford, diners that mentioned Brian's name had part of their tab donated to the cause, and organizers also held a silent auction. The eatery cashed the checks and forwarded the proceeds to Newman, who laments that she still doesn't know the names of all the people who

Daryl Carlson/Citizen photo Josie, a mixed-breed autism service dog, keeps tabs on his owner, Brian Newman, as Brian walks with his mother, Christine.

gave.



She also cites the support of Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia, where her husband works in nuclear medicine in the radiology department. The hospital held a bake sale and a basket raffle and raised nearly $1,500.



The radiology department held a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser at the Tilt'n Diner, and a softball tourney raised about $700.



As the former office manager for a psychiatrist who runs the bipolar program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Newman said she was especially heartened to get his frequent flyer miles, which let her buy a ticket to Oregon to be united with Josie on Feb. 19, then return home with the dog on Feb. 24.



While in Oregon, Newman said, she had the chance to take Josie to a local mall, a Costco store and a giant arcade complex similar to Chuck E. Cheese.



"I had to learn how to handle her in situations like that," Newman said.



Before signing off on the dog's placement, the family also was tested by having to place Josie beneath a table in a restaurant littered with food scraps she had to ignore, then have someone else call her, trying to make her come to them. The team passed.



Meanwhile, after a two-week period to adjust to her new home, Josie began training to work with Brian with the help of Sheila Smith of ASDA, who flew east on donated funds. Christine said the trainer stayed at the nearby Gunstock Inn in Gilford beginning on March 10 and was given a discounted rate by the business' owners.



Josie now accompanies Brian to kindergarten at Alton Central School, and Christine laughs as she recounts that fellow students are so excited about the arrival of the dog that they now identify her as "Josie's Mom."



"Josie is already very concerned about where [Brian] is. She has already learned that's her person and that she needs to know where he is," she said.



The family said they hope Josie can serve as a constant assistant and companion to Brian for the next 10 to 12 years. She eats an exclusive variety of dog food originally developed in Germany and also takes a fish oil and glucosamine arthritis-stalling supplement daily.



The Laconia Pet Center has offered to order the dog food for the Newmans, saving them a drive to Concord, and the Alton Veterinary Clinic, located next to Brian's school, has become Josie's attending medical team.



While the Newmans said they believe the dog to be a godsend, Christine said not every family raising a child with autism will want one.



"You have to really love dogs, be able to read them and have a child who is not afraid of dogs," she said.