11-Year-Old Billy Ma Gets to Know His New Service Dog (Part 2) - A Paw Nation Special Series

In this special series, Paw Nation shadows Billy Ma as he attends the Canine Assistants Training Camp, meets his new service dog and learns how the dog can help him by turning on lights, pulling his wheelchair and, hopefully, becoming his best friend. To read part one click here.

MILTON, GA. - It's the second day of camp. A dozen dogs are lined up in cages in the Canine Assistants classroom, waiting to get matched with the children they'll go home with at the end of two weeks. If all goes well, the dogs will love and protect these children for the rest of their lives.

Ever since the dogs were 3-day-old puppies being carried around in baby slings to get exposed to new sights and sounds, these specially bred retriever mixes have been prepped and trained for service. Now, at 18 months old, they're ready for their biggest test.

After two years of waiting, Billy Ma, 11, has traveled with his family from Ohio to the service-dog headquarters north of Atlanta. Some children wait five years or longer for an assistance dog. Billy has been placed on a priority list because he suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease that affects mostly boys.



The matching process is a little bit of science and a lot of art, trainer Chris Casatelli of Canine Assistants explains. The organization compiles personality profiles of the recipients based on information from the children, their parents and their doctors. They look for dogs with similar dispositions and see how the pairs interact.

But as the trainers tell the families, the dogs hold the cards. Ultimately they are the ones who decide on the families with which they go home.

"A lot of times you can just throw all the personality profiles out the window and a match just happens right in front of you," Casatelli says.

A Big Dog Chooses Billy
At 68 pounds, Polar, a fair-colored Lab/retriever mix, is the largest dog of the bunch. Billy is one of the smaller children, short for his age because of the steroids he takes. He walks slowly, bearing his weight on his toes, with his chest pointed out – hallmarks of his disease -- and falls down frequently.

But when they meet, none of that matters. Unlike other dogs who pace around his wheelchair or seem excited or distracted, Polar is fixed on Billy.

Plus, he's strong enough and has been trained to wear a leather harness that Billy can grab onto to steady himself. As long as Billy doesn't try to ride Polar like a horse, the dog will always be able to bear his weight.

"My first thought was, 'Wow, this is a big dog for this little boy,'" says Casatelli, Polar's trainer. "But then when you see him walking with his balance harness, and Polar's very gentle and taking his time and going slow to accommodate William's slower gait, you just know he's picking up on what he needs."

With Polar's help, Casatelli hopes that Billy will be able to continue walking on his own.

Billy's parents want the dog to go to school with their son and assist him with tasks, such as picking things up from the floor. Above all, they want the dog to be his friend and help him stay connected to the world.

"Because of his muscle weakness, he cannot do like other children are doing, like running around and playing," Billy's dad, Steve Ma, says. "Maybe with the dog, they'll want to be around him more."

Getting Comfortable With Polar
A day after the match is made, Billy and his parents start to bond with Polar. They're nervous because they've never had a dog. Back at the hotel, Polar defecates on the carpet. The second night, the dog falls out of Billy's bed.

Their comfort level rises as the days pass. Billy's mom holds open Polar's lips and Billy brushes his teeth with poultry-flavored paste. They get used to having a dog under the dinner table, and Billy knows the gentle tone to use to get Polar to go to the bathroom.

On a group trip to Target, Polar dutifully plods alongside Billy's wheelchair while the boy examines video games, Legos and more toys. Other service dogs walks by, but aside from a casual glance, Polar keeps walking.

The only time Polar reacts is when Billy and his dad come upon a display of colored bounce balls and take some out to play with. When a ball bounces near Polar, he gets scared and starts to run.

"Are you OK?" Billy asks Polar, reaching down to pet the dog's fur. "No more scary balls."

A clerk tells Billy what his family already knows: he has the prettiest dog in the store.

Billy is looking forward to training and playing with Polar back in Ohio. But they still have a lot to learn about each other.

One day, toward the end of camp, the boy is sitting in his wheelchair and Polar puts his paws on the boy's thighs.

"What does that mean?" Billy asks Casatelli.

The answer comes quickly.

"That means 'I love you.'"

Tags: assistance dogs, canine assistants, dog training, Service Animals, service dogs, therapy dogs