Dogs with Wings helps children with autism thrive
By Jeremy Jagodzinski
EDMONTON — A west Edmonton charity that provides service dogs to autistic children is working hard to raise money and awareness for its cause.
In its effort to bolster public involvement, Dogs with Wings followed up its annual gala, which raised $40,000 earlier this month, with a Nov. 18 display on the third floor of West Edmonton Mall.
Autistic children make up the majority of the charity’s clientele.
“These dogs will help these kids self-soothe,” said John Wheelwright, the executive director of Dogs with Wings. “It really lowers the pressure for the whole family.”
Last month, nine-year-old Emily Ainsworth and her service dog Levi were kicked out of a west-end Winners location twice in three months by staff even though following the first incident, management assured Amy’s mother that such a blunder wouldn’t happen again.
“I’m disappointed that Winners didn’t take the opportunity the first time around when Emily was denied access to educate the staff and to roll out the information and awareness,” said Lis Dam Lo, whose daughter Jordan, 7, relies on a service dog she got from Dogs with Wings.
Jordan’s dog Iynan is “a third set of hands” for Dam Lo and her husband. If Jordan should get away, Iynan is trained to pick up her scent.
Since some autistic kids can’t speak, they’re prone to “bolting” out of frustration. As a precaution, children may be tethered to the dog. If they try to run away, autism dogs are trained to stop, drop and hold position until told otherwise.
Because autism isn’t always as noticeable as some physical disabilities, the public still struggles to understand the condition. Autism service dogs can serve as that identifiable marker for the public.
“Jordan looks typical, she just behaves like a one-year-old, and if Iynan wasn’t there with us, we often got a lot of dirty stares and dirty looks,” said Dam Lo. “With the service dog, there’s the cue for the rest of the public like ‘Oh, OK, someone with a challenge is here and we should be a little more tactful’.”
Although Emily’s story portrayed a negative event, it has helped more people understand the use of service dogs by autistic children.
“Because of that news story more people are aware,” said Dam Lo. “Everybody, whenever they see our dog, they’re like ‘Hey, have you been to Winners?’ ”
Many are unaware of how the law pertains to service dogs, so it’s important for families with autism dogs to know their rights.
“Provided that both the child and their dog have official photo ID, they have the right to enter any public building just like anyone else,” said Wheelwright.
Besides keeping her safe, Iynan also helps Jordan in the schoolyard, Dam Lo said.
“It’s not easy to socialize with somebody with autism” said Dam Lo. “So it’s great for the kids when they’re in public and when they’re at school, if they have the dog with them, the other kids learn that ‘this is the kid with the dog and in order to play with the dog I have to talk to them.’ ”
Dogs with Wings endeavours to host to a variety of events throughout the year.
“It’s a way of bringing fresh faces into the fold to let them know what we’re doing,” said Wheelwright. “It’s twofold. It’s outreach and it’s also fundraising.”
403-637-3958 I have an idea young dog you might be interested in for training. German Shepard
bernie hosey: your best bet is to contact DOGS WITH WINGS: (780) 944-8011/ . In my opinion they are the leading authorities on this subject-at the very least within the city.
However, one thing I did find out, but that didn’t make it into the story is that the dogs they train for service are breed specific: they use Labradors or sometimes dogs that are at least part Labrador. From what I was told so do most other centers- it’s sort of the standard.
I might be wrong, but I got the impression that it may be that there are other facilities that do train other breeds, but they might not be “accredited” or officially recognized training centers.
But to know for sure and find out if the dog you had in mind might be a good candidate, give DWW a shout, they’re very friendly and willing to hand out info to anyone who needs it; educating the public is definitely a priority for them. Give me a shout if you can’t find the answers you’re looking for and I’ll see what I can do. Cheers.