A trip to the supermarket is no big deal for most, but for 11-year-old Ben it only became possible after he was introduced to service dog Quincy.

Up until a year ago, a supermarket trip for Ben’s family would have required a very close watch and holding on tightly to his hand, something that could easily frustrate the child.

Ben and Quincy. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

Nowadays, Ben, who is autistic, is strapped to Quincy by means of a harness, and the golden retriever manages to keep him close to his parents while allowing him free movement, his father, Eric Zammit, told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Quincy is one of five autistic support service dogs trained by the Service Dogs Malta Foundation to help children integrate with the rest of the community, whether in a classroom or out on a playing field.

Ben, who immediately bonded with the two-year-old dog, has also found a sense of security in her, as she manages to calm him down when she senses that he is tense.

She also sleeps beside the boy, allowing the parents to get a good night’s sleep. Parents of autistic children often worry that their children will wake up and wander off during the night. Once, Quincy woke Ben’s parents up when the boy got out of bed.

Another big fear for parents is that their children will run away into some crowd, get lost, and then be unable to explain to people where they live. A service dog does not allow them to wander too far off.

Some autistic children meanwhile seem to feel more at ease around a service dog. One child even uttered the first word to one of the dogs, Joanne Cremona from the foundation said.

There is a huge demand for them

Ben first met Quincy at school, where her trainer Robert Spiteri would take her for one-to-one sessions with the boy.

Like her peers, Quincy was sourced at just six months of age and was fostered by a puppy raiser, during which time she was taught basic commands and how to socialise.

By the time she started being trained by Mr Spiteri, she had got used to being around children, traffic and crowds.

Mr Spiteri then started taking Quincy to therapy sessions at resource centres, observing her interactions with children, while training her in more specific commands.

The whole process takes around two years and costs the NGO at least €15,000.

Some 20 dogs have been trained since the Service Dogs Malta Foundation was set up in 2013, with five ‘graduating’ and matched with a child.

The Burmese mountain dog Bliss attends resource centres as part of her training.

The training process is quite rigorous, in line with international standards. Those dogs that do not ‘graduate’ are given another chance. If they ‘fail’ again, the foundation may decide to keep them on as therapy dogs who visit residential homes – and there is a huge demand for them.

“We have the dogs, we have the demand, but not the volunteers – we need people who are willing to pick up the dog from the foster family and take it to places such as elderly people’s homes,” Ms Cremona said.

“We have seen residents who never get up from their chair reaching out and even walk up to the dogs!”

However, at the moment the foundation is especially in need of puppy raisers and of funds to source and train support dogs that could be matched with autistic children, of whom there are 22 on the waiting list.

For the time being it is focusing on training autism assistance dogs, diabetic alert dogs – which learn when sugar levels of those around them drop dangerously low or spiral dangerously high – and therapy dogs. 

While the dogs remain the property of the foundation, they need to continue being trained by the family that they are matched with. Should the NGO feel there is any form of mistreatment or lack of care, the dogs will be returned.

More information is available on www.servicedogsmalta.org or the Service Dogs Malta Foundation page on Facebook.

Currently Robert Spiteri is training five dogs, and the foundation has three puppies in need of a foster family. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli