Six-year-old Kyle Richardson is believed to be the first person in the province to have two service dogs - one trained to help him develop, the other trained to save his life.
One year ago, Richardson didn't speak or play. The six-year-old boy mostly kept to himself. But that all changed with the dog, Delilah.
"Without the dog…he hides, he has no self confidence, his anxiety levels are off the wall," said Dusti Richardson, Kyle's mother.
Within days of bringing Delilah home, her son began speaking. The dog has been the boy's best friend, but soon she'll take on a different role.
Last year, one month after a friend's son with autism wandered off and drowned in a pond, Kyle also disappeared. He was later found. That's when Dusti says she decided she wanted Delilah to not only be Kyle's companion, but also his protector.
Delilah will be taught to track and find Kyle when he wanders off alone.
His Stony Mountain home is just minutes from a shooting range, down the street from a jail and surrounded by quarries.
Dog trainer, George Leonard is also training another dog, Bella, to be Kyle's companion to give him a reason to stay home.
"So we want to have a complete program to basically assist him, just to improve quality of his life - that's the plan," said Leonard.
Kyle's mom said that plan is already working like a charm.
- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
