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Siloam Proud 6C n Wednesday, June 26, 2019 Siloam Springs Herald-Leader Serving Siloam Springs, USA & Surrounding Areas Like us on: 24 hr. service repairs on all brands We love life here in Siloam Springs & we want to keep your home at just the right temperature! 479-524-0759 siloam springs ACTION HEATING & COOLING 960 South Mt. Olive Suite A Siloam Springs 479-524-5161 888-736-2020 1008 First Ave SE Gravette 479-323-7005 HOurS: Monday 8:00 AM - 6:00 pm Tuesday 7:00 AM - 6:00 pm Wednesday 7:00 AM - 5:00 pm Thursday, 7:00 AM - 5:00 pm Friday 7:00 AM-4:30 PM Closed Saturday & Sunday • EyE Examinations • trEatmEnt of EyE DisEasE • on-sitE Lab • ContaCt LEnsEs • GLauComa & DiabEtiC CarE • PEDiatriC EyE CarE • LarGE sELECtion of framEs Greg Philpott, O.D. Leah Cate, O.D. Jordan M. Netzel, O.D. www.robertsphilpotteyeassociates.com Striving to provide our community the highest quality eyecare in a timely and courteous manner TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU HOurS: Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00 Friday 8:30-4:30 The furry student Jasmine, an autism service dog, is a four-legged angel for her teenage handler By Janelle Jessen Staff Writer n jjessen@nwadg.com Not all students at Si- loam Springs High School have two legs. Jasmine, who works as an autism service dog for Jackson Fine, has become part of the class of 2021. The long-haired German Shepherd never leaves Jackson's side at home or at school. This year, she has accompanied him to class, on field trips and to prom. She even has her own picture in the high school yearbook. Outside of school, Jasmine and Jackson go everywhere to - gether, driving in his truck, going to the store and eat- ing at restaurants. Jasmine is profession- ally trained to carry out a series of tasks to help Jackson cope with some of the symptoms of his au- tism, he said. For example, if Jackson is feeling too much stress, Jasmine will lay on him and provide deep pressure to help calm him, or if Jackson is fidget - ing with a pencil, Jasmine will nuzzle his hand and remind him to stop. She is also trained to ignore outside stimulus that might agitate another animal, such as other dogs, people and the general hustle and bustle of public places. Jackson recently com - pleted his sophomore year of high school and will be starting his junior year in the fall. Because of Jas- mine's influence in his life, Jackson has been able to do things in the past year that his dad, Anthony Fine, never imagined possible. "There have been a lot of firsts this year and a lot of things I never thought I would get to see, I'm get - ting to see because of her," Anthony said. Jackson is on the autism spectrum and struggles with feelings of stress, a lack of confidence and ner - vous fidgeting, according to his dad. "High school for anyone is a stressful thing," Jackson said. However, during Jack - son's freshman year he felt so much stress that he quit caring about his academ- ics. Testing was especially difficult, he said. Anthony and Jackson began researching the benefits of trained autism service dogs but the clos - est dog training facility he could find was in Michi- gan. Finally, by chance, he found On Command Canine Academy in Joplin, Mo., owned by Tim Franks. Jackson was first matched with a German Shepherd mix, but that dog developed some bone problems so he had to be retired before his training was complete. When Jackson was intro - duced to Jasmine, it was love at first sight, according to Anthony. "When they first met each other, he walked in and Jasmine ran to him," Anthony said. "I have a picture of her almost giving him a big hug." Extensive training Before she could come home with Jackson, Jas- mine underwent more than 400 hours of training, including 200 hours of training with Jackson, as he learned to be a dog han- dler, Anthony said. Franks, who has a back- ground in training dogs for law enforcement, now trains all types of medical service dogs for people with conditions such as post traumatic stress dis - order, autism, hearing impairment, fetal alcohol syndrome, diabetes, sei- zures and mobility prob- lems. The only type of medical service dog he does not train is seeing eye dogs for the blind, he said. Jasmine's training began when she was a puppy, Franks said. She was social - ized and exposed to many sounds, scents, animals, noises, people, surfaces and environments that she might encounter so that she would not get too ex - cited or hyper, he said. In addition to basic training, she was then taught the specific tasks she needs to help Jackson, he said. Jasmine not only responds to Jackson's cues, but also watches his body language to pick up visual clues of when he needs her help, Franks said. Jackson's training was just as intense as Jasmine's training as the team pre - pared to become a certi- fied service team, Franks said. Franks even came to school with Jackson and Jasmine for a few days to make sure things were go- ing smoothly. Each year the pair will continue to do more continuing education and public access training for their recertification, he said. The administration at the Siloam Springs High School is doing a great job of accommodating Jackson and Jasmine, Anthony said. "It's something that could have been extremely stressful but they have made it seamless," he said. "They have made it no worries at all. The district has really bent over back - wards, from the adminis- tration to the bus barn." To prepare for Jasmine's arrival, administrators trained students and staff how to handle the pres- ence of the dog and helped them understand the dog is working, according to assistant principal Jerrie Price. They also checked to make sure that no students in Jackson's classes had dog allergies. "The main thing was just launching them for suc - cess and making sure kids understand Jasmine has a job to do and she isn't there as a pet," she said. Jasmine and Jackson are just another element of diversity in the school and as expected, the other students have been very accepting of Jasmine, Price said. "I think the kids think its cool that she's one of the crowd," she said. "She just rolls through like any other student and it's kind of fun. Everybody's used to it and nobody minds." Four-legged angel Jackson said that Jasmine has helped him do bet- ter in school, relax during tests and make friends. For example, during his Ad- vanced Placement Biology test, Jackson started to get anxious, but he was able to sit in the floor and cue Jas- mine to lay across his legs until he felt calmer. "She is there to tell me, 'Don't stress, you are go- ing to get through this,'" he said. Anthony sees Jasmine as his son's four-legged angel. "I'm a firm believer that we walk among angels every day and I am a firm believer that she is his four-legged angel," An - thony said. "Because not all angels have wings and if it wasn't for her I don't know what we would do. This year has been one of the best years he has had and I attribute it mostly to her." Jasmine has helped Jack - son take on the tasks that most 16-year-olds face, such as driving his pickup, where Jasmine sits next to him with her head on his lap, or making solo trips to Walmart. Anthony said the biggest difference he has seen in his son is an increase in confidence, boldness and Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Jackson Fine and his autism service dog Jasmine have become an inseprable team as Jasmine helped him achieve many firsts over the past school year. See furry on Page 7C