After several fundraisers and many months of waiting, Colton Ruscitti’s certified service dog, “Charlie,” has arrived. Dianne Long and Bev Swartz, service dog trainers with All Purpose Canines in Aberdeen, S. Dakota, accompanied Charlie to Murphy and began on-site training with the Ruscitti’s on May 14th.

Colton, a soon to be five year old, is autistic. Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. In Colton’s case, sounds hurt his ears, he has limited speech abilities, and he cannot socially navigate interactions with peers. He struggles each day to survive in the world around him. He wanders away from home, has a difficult time dealing with being in public places, and is frustrated easily.

Charlie, a two year old Golden Retriever, has been specially trained to deal with Colton’s autistic challenges and to act as a calming agent, a helper, and a safety net. Family members have been encouraged not to treat Charlie as their pet but respect the working relationship between the service dog and Colton. Fortunately the other Ruscitti children have a great family dog named “Max” to pet and play with as much as they want.

Charlie wears a harness equipped with a hand grip that Colton holds onto when he walks. There is also a safety leash that is attached to Charlie and Colton in the event Colton tries to stray away from Charlie. Colton’s parents, Lori and Vince Ruscitti, have learned the commands that Charlie has been trained to respond to and will in turn help Colton learn to rely on his service dog.

There is one issue with Charlie still pending. And that is the situation with WISD allowing him to attend school this fall when Colton resumes his PPCD classes. Currently, in spite of several conferences with WISD officials, the school system is resistant to hiring an aide to assist Colton in the classroom with his tasks and with managing Charlie. A meeting to take place in August will yield a decision either for or against hiring an aide for Colton. The Ruscittis’ plight has aired on Channel 8, CW33 and Channel 4 T.V. news and has yielded overwhelming support from other families with autistic children and agencies who deal with the rights of handicapped individuals.

The Messenger invites you to participate in their website poll on www.murphymessenger.com to share your thoughts on certified service dogs in our schools.