American News Writer

All Purpose Canines Inc. of Aberdeen, a non-profit service-dog organization, will be providing a guardian angel for a child in need.

Zachary Miga, the 8-year-old son of Dan and Rhonda Miga of Rochester, N.Y., was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Like many children with autism, Zachary tends to wander off without giving any thought to his safety. Even though the Migas keep their doors locked and have chimes installed alerting them to when the door opens, their son still manages to get out.

"It is impossible to keep the doors locked 100 percent of the time," said Rhonda. "We are on top of things 99 percent of the time - it's that 1 percent that scares us."

After months of research, the family felt a dog trained to help Zachary was a partial solution to some of their problems. More research resulted in the idea that a service dog could accompany the Migas on their family outings, such as shopping trips and vacations.

Rhonda began looking for service dog organizations that might be able to help them, but found that few organizations work with children and those that did were not prepared to work with an autistic child.

Help in South Dakota

In September 2002 the family's efforts led them to South Dakota. After several discussions regarding expectations and qualifications, an application was completed by the Migas family and subsequently approved by the Board of Directors of All Purpose Canines.

APC is aimed at providing greater means of independence via canines to physically challenged individuals as well as children with autism, other pervasive developmental disorders, diabetes, asthma and epilepsy.

Service dogs for autistic children are trained by APC to improve the safety of the child. For Zachary, his lack of fear and understanding of dangerous situations, such as leaving home, crossing streets and being too close to his neighbor's swimming pool, are a great risk to his safety.

The dogs are also trained to increase the independence of the child by developing scenarios where the dog helps the child negotiate his or her environment. The dog would also increase the responsibility of the child, who would be expected to learn how to feed and care for the animal.

Social skills help

Another goal is to improve the social skills of the child and increase integration into the community. For children with autism, initiating and responding to social interaction is very difficult. It is the belief that the presence of a dog could help to promote socialization in ways that have not yet been possible.

"Dogs and children just seem to naturally go together," said APC Executive Director Bev Swartz of rural Aberdeen.

APC-trained dogs can perform numerous tasks for their partners. Some of these tasks may include opening and closing doors, turning light switches on and off, retrieving dropped objects, providing balance for their partners, and alerting others when their partners are having seizures.

Helping with seizures

An APC dog assists a 9-year-old Missouri boy with low blood sugar by anticipating his seizures. As a result the child has not had a seizure since his medical emergency dog, Delta, became a part of his life. Delta is trained to respond or alert to a medical event, thus enabling his partner to take the necessary precautions.

The dogs can also be trained to assist the hearing impaired by alerting them to various sounds, such as smoke detectors, telephones, doorbells or a crying baby.

APC has a physical therapist on site that can provide exercises to be incorporated into the daily routine of caring for the dog. These exercises can help with range of motion and increase muscle strength.

The APC staff - with more than 30 years of dog training

and animal behavior experience - will be working closely with Zachary's behaviorist and the Strong Center for Developmental Difficulties in Rochester.

Finding the right dog

During the next few months APC will test several dogs, trying to find the best one for Zachary. Humane societies and breed rescue clubs donate some of the dogs used in APC programs. "We match the personality of the dog to the personality of the partner," said Swartz.

Dogs are chosen based on their personality, health and other factors relevant to the job required. For Zachary, three dogs are being considered. Qualities that the dog must possess include patience, good health, tolerance and the ability to detect scent for tracking. The tracking ability is the most important factor in a dog for Zachary.

The dogs go through a vigorous veterinary check-up to be certain that they do not possess any health problems. Although age is not the most important factor in selection of a dog, young dogs are preferred. "The service life of a canine is around eight to 10 years, depending on the type of work," said Swartz. "If a dog is required to open doors and assist people getting dressed or out of wheel chairs, the work is harder on older dogs."

Training takes time

Training begins once the dog is chosen. This training lasts around a year to 18 months. Zachary's dog will be trained in the spring when scent training can be held outside. As of now, APC does not have an indoor training facility, which makes it difficult to start training during the winter.

The length of training is determined by the number and complexity of duties the canine is to perform. In addition to obedience, the dog will be taught to find Zachary should he wander from the house or become separated from his family. Also, since Zachary is non-verbal, the dog must be able to communicate with Zachary without verbal commands from him.

After the dog has undergone training in Aberdeen, one of Zachary's parents will come to All Purpose Canines. While here, the parent will be expected to fully learn the dog's commands and how to have the dog follow a scent. This usually takes around one week but can take longer.

Finishing touches

The dog then will be fine-tuned by APC staff. When the dog is fully trained it will be taken to Rochester with Swartz and trainer Dianne Long of Pukwana. At that time Zachary and his family will undergo two weeks of intense training. Swartz and Long will accompany the Migas with the dog to every place they go.

"We will go to the grocery store, Six Flags, wherever - but I draw the line at rollercoaster rides," said Swartz with a laugh.

The Miga family then will have a certified service dog that will be able to accompany Zachary any place open to the general public.

All Purpose Canines and the Migas are hoping for the same thing: With a highly trained canine partner by Zachary's side, the safety issues confronting him will be drastically reduced.

For more information contact All Purpose Canines, 13260 393rd Ave., PO Box 214, Aberdeen, SD 57402-0214 or call (605) 225-1131 or visit www.allpurposecanines.com. Zachary Miga