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FAIRBANKS -- Just three short months ago, 4-year-old Kylie Haas joyfully welcomed Millie, a small, nondescript black dog, into her life.

“My dog, my dog, my dog!” Kylie shouted excitedly as she ran toward Millie, a trained autism service dog, emerging from the arrival gate at the Fairbanks International Airport with her Kentucky-based trainer in tow.

Soon, Millie was snuggled in a beaming Kylie’s arms, her head pressed firmly into her new companion’s shoulder.

A pound puppy of indeterminate parentage, Millie’s muzzle and head are oversized in relationship to her rather small body. She wouldn’t win a second glance from breeders or earn points for form or looks in a dog show. And there are conflicting opinions on her blend of breeds — some say Newfoundland or Aussie mix while others see traces of Shar-pei.

But Millie’s looks don’t matter — the lively, loving, 1-year-old canine, rescued when she was 4 months old, possesses an innate power to change lives.

Since their first embrace, Kylie and Millie’s bonding continues to grow as Kylie, who was diagnosed with autism a year ago, takes on more responsibility with the dog’s care, and Millie continues to enrich Kylie’s life.

Since Millie moved into Bruce and Heidi Haas’ Shannon Park home, the service dog has wrought unexpected changes — not only for Kylie, but everyone in the family.

Within the first week of Millie’s arrival, the changes were startling, Heidi said.

“Kylie had a meltdown that previously might have gone on for one-and-a-half to two hours, but after five minutes of screaming in her room, she came out asking, ‘Where’s Millie? What’s Millie doing?’” Heidi recalled.

Ever since Kylie’s birth, Heidi has spent a great deal of time researching autism and searching for the source of her daughter’s developmental disorders.

“I knew since Kylie was born that something wasn’t right,” she said.

Heidi’s search for answers took time and patience to find out what exactly was wrong and how to cope with it. A year ago, a routine Internet search eventually led her to Millie.

Heidi found Liz Norris, executive director of Pawsibilities Unleashed in Frankfort, Ky. But it took months of telephone interviews, paperwork and fundraising to cover the $3,000 fee before Millie was delivered by Norris on July 10.

Most people think of service dogs as guide dogs for the blind, but Norris, Millie’s handler, has been training autism service dogs for the past 15 years of her 31-year career.

Norris stayed in Fairbanks for a week, training Heidi and the family at home and around town before handing over Millie’s leash.

Procuring a trained service dog has meant a huge commitment for the Haas family, especially Heidi, who is responsible for maintaining Millie’s training.

With Norris’ guidance, Millie successfully worked with the family through a series of exercises and outings, including shopping at Wal-Mart, lunch at Chili’s and the carousel at Pioneer Park.

“I was scared to death at Wal-Mart,” Heidi said, and “I was anxious, anxious, sitting in the middle of Chili’s, but the waitress said, ‘I didn’t even know there was a dog down there.’”

That is the highest compliment for a service dog, Norris said.

Service dogs

The successful placement of a service dog depends on a number of factors, Norris explained.

“The home environment the dog goes into has to be stable, and the family has to be stable in order to keep up the dog’s training and social skills and good manners. You have to take real good care of (service dogs). They’re a tool, just like a wheelchair.”

According to Norris, just the presence of a trained service dog provides a calming effect for a child with autism.

“During a meltdown, the dog will nudge a child, lick the child or put its head in the child’s lap. The dog will try to break the child out of a cycle, redirect and refocus the child on something else.”

Dogs that are selected for autism service training possess an excellent temperment, similar to human caregivers who want to help others, Norris said.

“It’s a dog who truly cares more about the child than the adults in the house and when outdoors more about the child than other adults or dogs.”

In addition to being trained with good obedience skills and public manners, autism service dogs can’t be concerned if a child trips over them or hits them. They are taught to lay across a child to apply deep pressure for a calming effect, help with balance, block a child from running into the street, summon help if needed and accompany a child in a school situation.

Service dogs from Pawsibilities Unleashed typically are trained from three to six months, depending on the dog and the type of assistance training requested.

“Millie’s temperment was tested through two foster homes before she came to me,” Norris said.

Norris said she has been able to find wonderful canine training candidates from animal shelters across Kentucky.

“We have testers at the humane societies who know what we want and call us. We’ve saved a lot of Labs who wanted a job,” she said.

Before acquiring a service dog, Norris said, it is important for parents to not only know what their child’s medical issues and needs are, but to be aware of the long-term commitment and continuing direct involvement with the dog as well.

“I think service dogs can be a great asset,” Norris said. “They can help and enhance a family’s life.”

But the trainer acknowledges that she can’t guarantee a service dog, adding that they can overburden and stress out a family as well.

“You are not going to get a remote control dog like a vacuum you can turn on and off,” Norris cautioned. “They are a living, breathing entity, just like humans.

“It’s not a program for everyone, but for people who want to do it this way it is really successful,” Norris said.

Learning methods

Tracey Hagan, an autism consultant in Kentucky, first learned about autism service dogs about four years ago, but it wasn’t until last May that her 12-year-old son, Tyler, was paired with Carmela, a mixed-breed terrier.

“I was shocked myself at the changes the dog made, even after all the research I have done,” said Hagan, who serves as a consultant for parents, teachers and businesses, and volunteers as an education advocate for parents of children with autism.

“I have seen an amazing difference in my child and some other kids interacting with the dogs,” Hagan added.

Hagan said, that in some sense, dogs have a kind of autism.

“They learn by repetition, they learn visually, and you have to continue to teach them skills or they regress like kids with autism do,” she explained.

According to Hagan, the interest in service dogs for the disabled is increasing as more and more people learn about them and start to use them, not only for autism but for people living with diabetes or seizures.

Twizzler days

Before Millie joined the household, Kylie would dance around the house frequently throughout the day, whirling what the family calls a “twizzle” or “twizzler” — a narrow length of heavy paper like an airplane baggage tag.

Constant motion, called stemming, is a common trait of children with autism, Heidi said. It’s done to relieve stress, in the form of behavior such as flapping hands or spinning.

“By the third night Millie was here, Kylie went to bed without her twizzler,” Heidi said.

Since then, Kylie’s stemming, which used to be a constant, has tapered off significantly. She no longer twizzles in her special-ed classes and usually only picks it up again near the end of the day as she winds down before bedtime.

Autism is a developmental disability that covers a wide spectrum of behaviors. The symptoms are unique to each individual as are the ways sufferers interact and experience the world.

Common characteristics may include lack of eye contact; speech or language delays; sensitivity to sounds, smells, sights, tastes, touch or textures; poor social skills; tantrums, spinning and repetitive behaviors; and a strong reaction to transitions, changes in routines and people.

“They perceive and understand the environment in such a different way than we do; they don’t know how to handle it. They don’t know to accept and work through it,” Heidi said.

As each day went by that first week after Millie’s arrival, the Haases were continually amazed at the behavioral changes they were seeing in their daughter — changes they hadn’t anticipated.

“For the very first time, she went and crawled into her bed for a nap,” Heidi said.

The nightly bedtime routine for Kylie and her 2-year-old brother, Brody, also shortened considerably.

“She began falling asleep quicker — in 20 to 30 minutes versus 60 to 90 minutes — and sleeping through the night for the first time in her life,” Heidi said.

Before Millie joined the family, redirecting Kylie was never possible, Heidi said.

Millie’s presence and involvement with Kylie during the past three months has changed that and many other behaviors. Taking Kylie to public places is no longer as overwhelming and dangerous as it once was.

“She is so much calmer. She not darting away anymore,” Heidi said.

One big test early in Millie’s residency came when she accompanied the family to a live Sesame Street show at the Carlson Center. A similar outing, before Millie, resulted in Kylie walking the halls twizzling the entire time, Heidi related.

With Millie on hand, it was different.

“At the beginning (of the show) whenever she became agitated, she bent down to hug Millie at my suggestion. Then she just started doing it,” Heidi said.

Kylie’s eating habits also have improved significantly. She is now eating an average of three meals a day, up from her previous one, and is trying more nutritious foods and foods with different textures, which she previously shunned.

And Kylie’s tantrums have diminished from at least three per day to maybe one.

Bruce Haas admits he was somewhat skeptical of how a trained dog would be helpful to his daughter and initially viewed Millie’s acquisition as one more thing to take care of.

“Kylie’s pretty high functioning on the (autism) spectrum, and I didn’t think she needed it,” he said.

He quickly altered his attitude.

“The things we are seeing aren’t what I expected. I didn’t think having a dog would change things like Kylie eating breakfast and being more tolerant of people,” Bruce said.

“I’ve seen a change in her openness to new people. Before, there would be dead screaming. Now at Sam’s (Club) waiting in line, she’s open and talking about the dog.”

Therapy continues

Since Kylie was diagnosed with autism, she has been involved in speech, occupational, physical, nutritional and behavioral therapy sessions.

“Early intervention is the key to unlocking these children,” Heidi said.

“Ages zero to 7 are the most critical time for development of the human brain. Engaging the brain is the key to reaching kids and the earlier it is done the better.”

Forty hours a week of intense therapy is recommended for the average child on the autism spectrum.

Heidi’s research and interest in helping her daughter and other parents of children with autism in the community sparked her involvement in organizing the newly formed Autism Society of America Golden Heart Chapter, a nonprofit family support group.

During the summer months, Millie accompanied Kylie to her therapy sessions, lying quietly nearby. No matter what Kylie was involved in, she was certain to check on Millie’s whereabouts, asking, “Is Millie watching me?”

Sometime in the future, once Mom, Kylie and Millie get it worked out, Millie may be joining Kylie in her daily special-education pre-kindergarten class.

The Haas’ No. 1 goal for their daughter is for Kylie to be a happy, productive member of society.

“We don’t want her to depend on us all her life or be in a group home. We want her to be independent, to be respected in society and be productive in her life,” Heidi said.

“My husband and I both truly believe she will be fine. She will learn coping mechanisms and skills. It just isn’t going to come as soon as other children.”

Homelife adjustments

Millie’s adoption hasn’t been without challenges.

Kozmo, the family’s 5-year-old pet pug, has gotten a whole new education since Millie joined the household.

Everything went smoothly between the two canines the first couple of months, until there was a squabble over a doggie bone. Millie was the aggressor in that incident and also has displayed some aggression toward dogs passing by when she is outdoors in the fenced yard.

The new behavior alarmed the Haases, especially since Heidi was near term with their third child. They quickly called Norris for advice.

“Basically, we started back at the beginning, reminding Millie she is a service dog and not the alpha dog,” Heidi said.

Vinegar spray to the mouth, which is harmless but tastes bad, was used to address Millie’s unacceptable behaviors.

“We also have learned that typical pet behavior can quickly rub off on a new dog — trained or untrained — which requires constant training with both dogs,” Heidi said.

The dogs no longer get extra treats in the same area, and Kozmo always gets to eat first and go outside first to refocus Millie as to her place in the household power chain — first people, then family pet, then service dog, Heidi said.

But for Kylie’s parents, adopting Millie has been worth all the time and effort involved. The dog’s positive influence on their daughter has gone way beyond their expectations, they say. Kylie is more affectionate, more talkative and more engaged with others these days.

Kylie’s affection for family members and disposition began picking up steam shortly after Millie moved in.

“Kylie seems happier and is getting more affectionate with the hugs and ‘I love yous,’” Heidi said.

“I couldn’t see us going back to what life was like three months ago. I look at Millie as kind of another child in our house, right now,” Heidi said.

“Kylie hugs Millie. She talks to her and asks me, ‘What does Millie say?’ If Kylie is eating, she wants Millie to eat. She wants to know if Millie loves her. Everyday she has to confirm that,” Heidi said. “She says ‘Millie is my best girl.’”

Each day brings more positive behavioral changes, proving to Kylie’s parents Millie’s value in their daughter’s life.

For the first time ever, Kylie is doing pretend and dress-up play and starting to come out of her shell and interact with other kids.

“Kylie never cared about what anybody wanted to do. It was always what she wanted to do,” Heidi said.

Recently, Kylie asked Heidi for a Barbie doll to take with her to play at a friend’s house.

“I was thrilled,” Heidi said. “It was the first time she cared about what she needed to participate in an activity.”

Kylie’s brother, Brody, a year and a half younger, was first to notice Heidi’s pregnancy. When it was brought to Kylie’s attention, she became curious and surprised her parents recently with the request to kiss the baby (She wanted to kiss Heidi’s belly).

Better yet, following Ella Katharine’s birth last Monday, Kylie has been thrilled to hold and hug her baby sister.

“It’s a whole new world,” Heidi said.