P.E.I. student with autism learning with help of canine companion

Dogs are often described as man's best friend and that's certainly trueforOliverRukavina, 15, and his service dog, Ethan, a Standard poodle.

Ethan will sitquietly next to Oliverin theclassroom, a comforting presence to the young man, who has autism. Oliversays Ethan is "nice, kind, cares for me."

Peter Rukavina says the dog has made an extraordinary difference in his son's life over the past couple of years, but especially since the poodlestarted accompanying Oliver to classtwo weeks ago.

"Ethan is part of Oliver's life and so school is part of Oliver's life and soitmakes sense.Ethan goes everywhere with Oliver, it would be unusual for Ethan not to come to school eventually," said Rukavina.

Ethan was trained at a guide dog school in Ontario asan autism assistance dogand just recentlystarted going to school.

No petting, no treats

The English languageschool board has now developed a provincewide policy for service dogs, which went into effect in April2015. The policy states, "The successful implementation of a service dog in an educational environment depends on clear communication, a wellinformed school community and careful planning."

Some of that careful planning involves a service dog request formwith proof of uptodatevaccinationsas well as making sure the school administration consults with the students and staffabout "allergies, fears, extreme phobias, or religious consideration."

There also needs to be aservice dog support person to helpwith the handling and careof thedog.

The goal is to make the service dog transition into school as smooth as possiblefor everyone.

There was no policy before Ethan came to Birchwood Intermediate School,but school officials say there are likely to be other dogs in the future, so rules are now in place.

There was even aschool assemblyto go over thoserulesno petting andno treats.

Both the family and the school say it's going well withEthan, the canine isbecoming a regular part of the school day.