Inspired by and in memory of Merlin, her late Lipizzan stallion, Janice Wolfe, of Wyckoff, founded Merlin’s KIDS, a nonprofit agency that rescues and rehabilitates shelter dogs and trains them to become service dogs for children with special needs, including those with autism and developmental disabilities.
Wolfe, who is well-known as the “New Jersey Dog Whisperer,” is singularly suited to the task. Working in tandem with Wyatt, her 2-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolfe interviews and evaluates families with special-needs children and then begins the process of finding and training a compatible service dog. She specifically trans each dog to fit the needs of each particular family. “There’s no “one size fits all” dog, she says.
An American Kennel Club champion as a puppy, Wyatt competed at Westminster at the age of 1 and won the American Kennel Club’s ACE award for service in 2010. “Wyatt’s known as ‘The Evaluator’ because he helps me determine if a child is a good candidate for a service dog and, if so, what type of dog would be suitable. Many children with autism respond very well to dogs,” Wolfe says, telling the story of a non-verbal yound child, who within 45 minutes of meeting Wyatt, had learned seven words. “I knew immediately that this child was a great candidate for a service dog.”
In the past two years, Wolfe has placed more than 60 rescued and rehabilitated dogs as service, therapy, and companion dogs – a staggering number, considering that her services are free to families in need. “We work with families all over the U.S. Typically a service dog can cost upwards of $30,000 and many agencies require families to fundraise all or part on their own. We do it all for free,” says Wolfe, who donates all of her earnings (as a dog trainer, SAT tutor and college consultant) to the cause. “I will basically go broke doing this because I love it. The effect these dogs have on these kids can’t possibly be measured in dollars.”
Wolfe’s ultimate goal is to build Merlin’s KIDS Ranch, western-themed town, complete with stores, restaurants, shops, a library and more in Hunterdon County. She has already tapped friend,
Temple Grandin, the world renowned animal behavior scientist, author and autism self-advocate, to assist in the design and planning. “My dream is to offer a vacation destination for special-needs children and their families that is free of charge and also free of social stigma and judgment.”
