The service dogs – a Rhodesian
Ridgeback and a Great Dane/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix – are being
trained to anticipate danger. The dogs,
for example, will come between the
children and any movement that may
cause them to fall or bump into objects
or other children. In add
COURTESY OF MERLIN’S KIDS
SERVING THE
INDIVIDUAL’S NEEDS
In addition to Rhodesian Ridgebacks,
Merlin’s Kids has rescued and trained a
variety of other breeds including
Labrador mixes, pointer mixes and
coonhound mixes. Wolfe uses her
Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wyatt, a
champion show and service dog, to
determine if a child is a good candidate
for a service dog and, if so, what type
of dog would be suitable.
“I’m very careful when placing dogs
with autistic children because these kids
can have such erratic behavior and the
dogs have to be able to handle that,”
Wolfe says. “Dogs like Emmy, who will
be tethered to a child, have to be really
chill and calm.”
All of Wolfe’s dogs are trained to
serve the individual needs of the recipients. For instance, when it comes to
autistic children, some dogs are trained
to stop a child from running off; others
are trained to interrupt behavior patterns and help calm a child who is over
stimulated. Autistic children who don’t
understand personal boundary space or
danger are partnered with service dogs
trained to come between the child and
other people.
“Some autistic kids need deep pressure to fall asleep, so we train service
dogs to lay across their laps at night,”
Wolfe says. “A lot of these kids had
never slept in their own beds until they
got a service dog.”
While Emmy is now retired – Harry
no longer needs her services – and lives
as the family’s pet, Gabrielle says she
will be forever grateful for her assistance. She is also thankful that Merlin’s
Kids provided a service dog free of
charge.
“Nonprofits like this are a true blessing because most people who have children with disabilities spend every
penny they have helping their children,”
she says. “These families could never
afford to pay for a service dog.” ❖
Merlin’s Kids is always in need of
donations and sponsors to help rescue,
train and rehabilitate dogs. The organization is also in need of foster families
to care for rescued dogs. For more
information, visit merlinskids.org.
2 0 1 6 E D I T I O N | S P E C I A L PA R E N T
29