Meet the new additions to our family - pups from Cork-based charity Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland

AS a rule, when it comes to matters that are domestic, family-related, or financial, my wife is the boss. (I do retain overall control of the TV remote, and she seems perfectly happy with this carve-up of power).

Like most Irish mammies, she runs her family and home like a benign dictator.

So, when she sidled up to me early in the New Year and began what appeared to be some kind of democratic consultation process, I was immediately put on high alert.

Either she was turning over a new leaf for 2022, or she had decided to make a power grab to prise the TV remote from my clammy hand.

When it transpired ‘the talk’ we were going to have did not involve relinquishing my grip on the TV remote, I relaxed and the colour returned to my face.

Then it emerged that this ‘talk’ was going to be about the addition of yet more animals to our veritable domestic menagerie, and my sphincter tightened again.

No, no, no, was my response. Not more animals!

Let me explain, lest you start thinking of me as some kind of pet-hating monster. I have no objection to the odd pet, absolutely none.

But we already had a dog, two cats, six guinea pigs (sorry, five, my wife just told me one of them snuffed it over Christmas... who knew?), and five hens - I won’t include the bird feeders in this too, but you get my drift.

My wife and some of the kids (mentioning no names) adore our brood: they feed and water them daily and take them for walks (the dog, I mean, obviously, not the guinea pigs, cats or hens).

But I had long ago reached the stage where I felt we were maxed out on the animals front. Indeed, I had adopted a policy of, ahem, ‘one out, one in’, with apologies to our geriatric cat, who must be about 238 in human years.

Now, here was my wife, making a pitch for an extra mouth to feed, on the very day our electricity bill arrived.

Scratch that - two mouths to feed.

I thought about replying with a melodramatic sweep of a hand across my brow, while uttering ‘Over my dead body’, but I didn’t want to put any ideas into her head.

No, hear me out, my wife said.

This would be two puppies staying with us for just one week, courtesy of the Cork charity Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI). And I could still afford the electricity bill as their food was provided free.

Founded in 2010, the AADI does amazing work raising awareness of autism, and it trains dogs as assistance dogs for autistic children.

These animals can open up a whole new world of opportunity and possibility for children and their families.

Take just one testimonial from its website, from dad John Breen.

“Since Koda has arrived into our home and joined our family, my daughter Charlotte has made so many gains. She is safe, she is confident, she is emphathic. She is happy. She is growing up.”

The AADI does great work, but to do it well, it needs to breed and train an army of wonderful dogs for its frontline. This was where my wife wanted to help out.

Melanie worked for a decade with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, and her friend Nuala Geraghty set up the AADI.

Aside from seeking donations to continue its work, one of the areas where the AADI needs most help is in the raising of suitable puppies to become assistance dogs.

To this end, my wife offered to take on two 7-week-old golden retriever/labrador cross pups for seven days, to help them integrate into a typical family household.

Volunteers who do this are called Early Home Socialisers and this pilot scheme aims to ease the transition for a puppy from being surrounded by lots of siblings, to being without them.

The AADI trainers and the households liaise on a home socialisation plan, exposing the pups to lots of different experiences, building on their early training, and introducing them to new sights and sounds.

Our job is to ensure they integrate into a typical family - the fact we already have pets, including the softest Rottweiler in Christendom, is actually an advantage in this regard.

At the end of the week, the pups are taken back by AADI and the household lets the charity know how they adapted and coped in the domestic environment. Just general stuff, mind, no training them to jump through hoops or balance balls on their noses.

All of these pups will go on to spend a year in the family of a charity volunteer - the AADI is seeking people to do this role too - and the best of them will become assistance dogs for autistic people in Cork and around the country.

When my wife outlined what a treat having two pups would be for a week, and the good we would be doing, I of course agreed it would be a great experience.

There was really no need for her to spell out how devastated our six-year-old daughter would be if I had said no - although I am sure it was a trick she had up her sleeves just in case!

So, yesterday Kipper and Kodiak arrived leaping and yelping into our lives for their seven-day adventure - and adorable is not the word.

It strikes me that the hardest part of undertaking this role for AADI is giving the pooches back after a week, and that must be harder if you take one for a year.

But the satisfaction of knowing you have played a small but important role in turning a young canine into an assistance dog, and that you have perhaps helped an autistic child and his or her family, will more than make up for that.

Besides, if you enjoy your stint as a volunteer for the charity, you can always ask to take in another pup down the line.

The charity also provides regular updates on the dogs that have been in volunteers’ care, so you can follow their story and know how it ends. I can’t wait to see if Kipper or Kodiak make the grade.

The AADI are looking for more volunteers to do this. See www.autismassistancedogsireland.ie