Paws of life 'Imaginary' friend for Sloan

PETER DRURY/Waikato Times

PRACTICE DOS: Eddy is helping Sloan Ewens, six, get used to dogs before a new one, trained to assist Sloan's autism, arrives in two months.

Relevant offers

Sloan Ewens is keenly awaiting the arrival of his new pooch - all the way from America. "The only thing I know about dogs is they wag their tails when they're happy, and they sniff people, and sometimes they chase cats," the talkative six-year-old says.

But the Hamilton schoolboy is not getting just any dog. Sloan's new best friend will be a fully-grown, fully-trained and certified Autism Assistance dog.

Sloan was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and though the St Peter's Chanel Catholic School pupil has come a long way thanks to extensive therapy, his mother Sonya believes an Autism Assistance dog is just what Sloan needs.

"I think it will be a sense of confidence for him," Mrs Ewens said. "The dog will provide behaviour disruption techniques. So if we go into public and Sloan freezes because he's anxious or has sensory overload the dog will be trained to either nudge him or lift a paw to him to distract what's going on in his mind."

Emotions in children with autism are amplified, Mrs Ewens said, causing them to react more violently or become indecisive when faced with fear or confusion.

An Autism Assistance dog would also provide a sense of safety for Sloan so that instead of wanting to be escorted places by his mum, on a school outing for example, he'll be able to go with the dog instead.

Mrs Ewens found out about Autism Assistance dogs through a report on TV3's Campbell Live programme in 2006.

Together with two other Hamilton families with autistic children, Mrs Ewens began fundraising to bring three of the dogs to New Zealand from the 4 Paws For Ability centre in Ohio, America.

In a New Zealand first, the dogs are set to arrive on July 14 with three trainers. They will be matched to the children and receive a week of final training, and though they will always be owned by 4 Paws, they will remain indefinitely with the children.

The three families have spent the past two years raising $60,000 for the venture and in spite of a large donation from a donor in Ohio, the group still needs about $6000.

Mrs Ewens hoped to raise the rest of the money through other activities, grants and donations.

They have set up a Waikato-based 4 Paws for Ability Trust with a vision of sending a Kiwi dog trainer to the US for a six-month course with Autism Assistance dogs.

The trust aims to raise awareness about the dogs as well as get legislation changed to recognise the animals as service dogs. It also wants to help three families a year with dogs and until a New Zealand trainer is qualified, an Australian 4 Paws-certified trainer will visit three times a year to assist.

Sloan said some of his friends in Room 7 at St Peter Channel thought the new dog was "imaginary" but "I think it's real".

For now a friend has lent the family Eddy, an eight-year-old Labrador-Boxer cross, to help Sloan adjust to animals.

He doesn't know what sex the new dog is yet, whether it will be a Labrador or Labradoodle, or what to name it.

"I could try naming it Ed but it's hard to say, it's only e-d."

For information about Autism Assistance dogs in New Zealand or to donate to the trust, visit www.4pawsnz3.org.nz or watch out for Sloan on Campbell Live tonight.