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Local couple raising funds for service dog for their daughter

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Katie Peruzzo touches the calm black Labrador retriever's face, hugs him tightly, then grabs a pillow and snuggles up with him for a nap.

While the seven-year-old is mesmerized by the year-old pup, her parents share her curiosity for another reason- Pepsi is an autism service dog.

The chestnut-haired girl has many autistic tendencies, such as a pervasive, potentially dangerous trust of strangers, a lack of social boundaries, and extreme sociability.

"Katie trusts and loves everybody," her mom, Lorrine, said recently in the living room of the family's home in The Westway. "She wouldn't think twice about going with anybody. In the blink of an eye, she can be gone. I can't let her go or take my eyes off her."

Katie also has a rare chromosomal abnormality called Tetrasomy18p which, like autism, causes developmental delays.

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others. A spectrum disorder, autism varies in degrees of severity and impairment.

Recently, Lorrine and Gord Peruzzo, who is an aeronautics technician with DeHavilland, began fundraising to get Katie her own autism service dog to help her remain safe, and to give her some independence and companionship.

An article on autism service dogs in Exceptional Parent magazine, and numerous Internet searches later, led Peruzzo to Wade Beattie, a leading autism service dog trainer with more than 20 years experience.

Beattie founded Autism Dog Services in Cambridge, Ont., which provides families with autistic children with either golden retrievers or black labs selected for temperament, then trained to meet the specific needs of each child and family.

The dogs cost $18,000, which covers the cost of training, vet costs, a comprehensive follow-up program, and lifelong training support.

Volunteers raise and socialize the hand-picked pups for up to 18 months, then Beattie does advanced training with each dog for another five months.

"The dogs provide safety, independence and companionship for autistic children," Beattie said, the day he brought Pepsi to meet Katie and her parents. "The dogs are a calming influence in public places that are highly stimulating like malls and school. Autistic children have difficulty with social interaction and communication. The hope is the dog will bridge the gap with people and places."

Children are tethered to the dog, the leash held by a parent or guardian, to provide independence and improve safety by preventing the child from bolting into traffic.

Safety is of great concern to the Peruzzos. Katie awakens, sometimes ill, two to three times a night, five nights a week on average. Twice, she has managed to leave the house in the middle of the night.

"Katie can never, never be left alone," Peruzzo said of her oldest child. The couple's son, Alex, is six. "It has been seven years since I slept well. I sleep with one ear open. It has been trying."

An autism service dog could be trained to awaken Katie's parents to her stirring.

Beattie has worked with more than 80 families with autistic children, including the Giffords in Ingersoll, Ont. Beattie trained Beau, the family's yellow Labrador retriever pup, to be an autism service dog to their son, David.

The 12-year-old boy is non-verbal and suffers from extreme anxiety.

Today, Beau accompanies David to school every day, and goes with the family on outings to the park, swimming, shopping, even to doctor's appointments. About half of Beattie's placed service dogs attend school with their children.

"The very first day Beau went to school with David full-time, David sat through the entire assembly for the first time," his mom, Kathleen, said in a recent phone interview from her home. "Transitions are very difficult for David, whether class-to-class or recess. Beau removed that for him. He redirects his focus away from the transition and lowers his anxiety."

Beau has opened David's world, and diminished his anxiety about public places, even if the bridge to socialization still awaits.

"It would be great if David didn't have any anxiety. I'd like to see more interactions. It's fine that he's going into public places, but my hope is that it could be social for David, rather than to fulfill a need, like going swimming."

Peruzzo hopes for the same for her daughter.

Grocery shopping could become manageable for the family

with a service dog, Peruzzo said.

"I can't get many groceries because Katie is too big for the cart. If she had a dog, I could push the cart and hold the leash, and Katie could walk tethered to the dog. It would make a big difference in our lives."

HOW TO GIVE

Lorrine and Gord Peruzzo are raising funds to train a Labrador retriever as an autism service dog for their daughter, Katie. The seven-year-old has developmental delays caused by autistic-like tendencies, and a rare chromosome abnormality called Tetrasomy 18p.

An autism service dog costs approximately $18,000, which covers the cost of training customized to a child and family's needs and lifelong support.

To donate, visit the family's website www.tetrasomy18p.ca/katieservice.html or email katieservicedog@yahoo.ca

Autism Service Dogs, Watch this to see how this programs works for special needs children

EDMONTON - Aidan Papadatos got a dog for his upcoming birthday. His parents got peace of mind.

Five-year-old Aidan, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, got Leia, a two-year-old black Labrador, last month -- the first service dog trained for an autistic child in Edmonton.

Aidan will be tethered to Leia, who guides him away from traffic and keeps him from going too far from his parents while in public.