A COWDENBEATH initiative to help autistic children has opened its doors this week.

Appaws for Autism is the only facility in Scotland training dogs to provide key assistance to autism suffers, and they have now opened their new base in Woodend Road.

The facility was officially opened by John Burns, of Burns Pet Nutrition, the organisation which is backing the charity in 2017.

An autism assistance dog can increase social interaction, confidence and safety. These specially trained dogs can provide comfort and protect in times of great anxiety or stress. Most of all, the child will experience and gain unconditional love and a best friend for life.

Carol Chisholm, Appaws director, was delighted to see the centre open and stressed that it's open to everyone who needs it.

She said: "It was quite a surreal moment. There were a few frantic moments getting everything arranged, but it was all alright by the end and it gave me a chance to finally breathe. We've still got visuals to put on the walls for the children, but we're almost finished.

"We offer support and advice for families 24/7 as well as offering advocacy services to parents.

"It's an in-depth process training the dogs. It's really not as easy as it sounds. We've got to be very delicate and it takes time. We have Buddy, who is a fully qualified dog, here in Cowdenbeath and we're hoping to train up to 15 dogs a year across our centres."

"All families dealing with autism are welcome here from any age. We will look to help anyone that comes in."

The initiative was given a boost recently as a major UK pet food company chose Appaws for Autism as their Charity of the Year.

Burns Pet Nutrition will support the centre over the next year by providing partial funding for four autism assistance dogs and full funding to one autism assistance dog, plus all pet food.