COMPANION DOG ENRICHES BOY'S LIFE

Date: December 24, 1999 Section: CURRENT Page: NRV1

By JUDY SCHWAB SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES

BLACKSBURG Sometimes your best friend is a dog, especially when you're 12 years old.

Because he can't talk, Harry communicates at school and home with sign language and a sophisticated computer device.

Harry would rather be outside playing with Rudy. He communicates with Rudy just like every boy does with his dog A little pat on the living room floor where Harry has decided to nap, and Rudy comes over to curl up beside him. No words needed.

Rudy and Harry found each other because his family used to live in Roanoke where they were friends with Carol Willoughby, the executive director of the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation.

Harry was in love with Willoughby's service dog, Booker, who assisted Willoughby with daily problems caused by her severe rheumatoid arthritis. It was Booker and Willoughby who introduced the idea of a dog for Harry - not just any dog, but one trained to be of some assistance.

Rudy is not a service dog, one formally trained to help adults with disabilities. The St. Francis foundation produces service dogs and social dogs like Rudy. Service dogs often can perform more than 100 tasks to help their owners. Such tasks range from carrying food to and from low cupboards and refrigerators for their owners to pulling people up from chairs and standing firm to act as a stable leaning device. They can open the heavy, commercial doors of public buildings, and fetch the phone, keys, purses and medicines for their owners.

They can hold things for the person, or even put them away or into the trash. They also have backpacks that carry things for their owners. Best of all, they don't bite and they like being petted.

Social dogs like Rudy are trained only to the first level. This means he can go for a walk with Harry and not take a notion to drag the boy through the bushes or jump up and knock him down. Unlike a service dog, though, no one in the McCoy house would expect Rudy to bring them a box of cookies without eating them all first.

Kate McCoy said she had to convince her husband, Harry, who had not had a dog growing up, that it was a good idea to get Rudy. Four months after his arrival, Rudy is very much a part of the family, which is evident when Corinne, the younger Harry's 6-year-old sister, plants a big kiss on his nose and gets a quick dog lick in return.

Kate explained that her son's condition is not progressive, and as he grows up she and her husband hope he will be as independent as possible. In her estimation as a parent and as a physician, she thinks he always will need some human assistance but would be a good candidate for a service dog.

Right now, she explained, "Rudy is empowering for Harry. It's something that's his - he can run and play. Rudy gives him companionship and stability. Just holding the leash gives him confidence."

Raising and training dogs is not quick or cheap. Sometimes adult dogs are trained (Rudy was a stray who showed up at trainer Pam Scordas' home), but puppies often are used. Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Australian shepherds are used most often.

Training costs can range from $1,500 to $6,000. St. Francis keeps the costs down by using volunteers. here are no paid employees, but the organization plans to hire an executive director so Willoughby can get some rest.

A two-year study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that $60,000 to $80,000 can be saved per individual over the 8- to 10-year working life of their service dog. In that light, the fees for a St. Francis dog are more than reasonable. There is the $25 application fee, $100 for the dog's backpack and other equipment, and another $100 that goes to future medical care from a veterinarian chosen by the owner.

Potential owners of St. Francis dogs must be qualified people with disabilities who live in Southwest Virginia. A qualified person is one whose disability substantially limits one or more major life activities. Candidates must be able to care for the service dog's physical and emotional needs and must be interviewed by members of a professional screening committee which includes volunteer psychologists, social workers, physicians and rehabilitation professionals.

It's like an adoption, and the foundation does everything it can to make a good match between qualified candidates and their dogs. Once selected, the dog is introduced gradually to the candidate's household, going for weekend visits until everyone settles in. Candidates and their dogs train together as well. Full ownership doesn't take effect until six months after the dog has gone to live with the candidate. St. Francis trainers remain on call if further training assistance is needed, and St. Francis canine graduates must be recertified by the foundation every two years.

Willoughby not only drew the McCoys into the foundation by providing Rudy, but she also snagged Kate McCoy's expertise, and now McCoy is the foundation's president.

"We need more trainers, contributions, we need puppies and puppy raisers, and we need more people with disabilities who need dogs," McCoy said.

Dogs selected for the program must be in good health with no history or sign of hip dysplasia. Puppies live with volunteer puppy raisers who, together with their four-legged charges, attend weekly St. Francis training sessions and socialization outings in the Roanoke area.

Commenting on the value of Rudy in her son's life, McCoy said, "They just make each other happy; Rudy never has a bad day," she added, looking at his wagging tail.

For information on how to become involved with training dogs, raising, or donating puppies, or receiving a service dog, call (540) 989-6354. The Internet address is: sfadogs@worldnet.att.net. Tax-deductible contributions for the work at St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation can be sent to P.O. Box 21403, Roanoke, Va. 24018.

Caption: photo - MATT GENTRY THE ROANOKE TIMES. Harry McCoy, 12, with his dog, Rudy, in the back yard of their home off Mount Tabor Road in Blacksburg. In the background are Harry's mother, Kate McCoy, and 6-year-old sister, Corinne. The other dog, Thome, lives with the family temporarily. color.