"At school, some of the doors are pretty heavy so he'll push the door open or tug it or he'll pick up a pencil if I drop it. He sits next to me and when he needs to go to the toilet, I'll let him off the leash and he'll come back."
The King's School student has muscular atrophy III. He is unable to walk and has been in a wheelchair since he was four. He is the first person aged under 18 in New Zealand to be given a mobility dog by the trust.
"One of the boys at school's granddad was one of the trust members. He (the schoolboy) told his granddad 'There's a boy in a wheelchair at school' and then they came and asked me if I wanted a dog," Michael says.
The trust helps pair dogs with Kiwis who have long-term physical disabilities.
They are specially trained by prison inmates to do everyday tasks such as switching lights on and off and opening doors.
Michael's mother, Julie Gifkins, also packs her son's lunch containers in plastic bags so Friend can easily retrieve them from the fridge.
"I'd gone for a walk and Michael texted me and said, 'Don't rush, Friend's got the sushi'," says Gifkins. "He also had to nudge the sushi bag back into the fridge, so it just means Michael can be the boy he wants to be, rather than getting his mum or his sister to do things for him.
"We have little ropes on everything at home: the pantry door, the sliding door, and that's why he's such a strong dog. He has to be able to tug things or nudge things on the counter to put things back."
Friend and other mobility dogs have a working life of about eight years, so once Wheeler heads to grammar school, he will be paired with another "best friend".
The trust is partnering with Animates stores across the country from tomorrow until October 31 to raise money to fund the ongoing training of puppies to help other Kiwis. Training just one dog costs more than $45,000 and takes more than two years.
