DeFazio, who has been unable to walk since a fall in December, and Shapleigh play in his yard. Shapleigh will be the center of attention at a fundraiser on Sept. 1 to raise money for a specialized van to provide DeFazio, who has multiple sclerosis, with a means of transportation. PHOTO BY ANDREW DICKERMAN

CRANSTON -- Home has become a prison for John DeFazio.

As multiple sclerosis has ravaged his body and sapped his strength, walking has become difficult, and now impossible. He leaves the house once a week.

The worst day was Dec. 7. The 55-year-old former restauranteur was walking across his kitchen when he lost his balance, falling forward. His shoulder slammed against the door frame, and he toppled backwards.

DeFazio found himself lying prone on the ground, his shoulder in extreme pain -- he had fractured and dislocated it -- and unable to get up, or move at all to get help. He was alone in the house, save for his dog, Shapleigh.

"Shapleigh. Fetch phone. Fetch phone," he remembers saying.

The dog raced to the phone, and brought it to DeFazio. He dialed his wife, Marie, at work. She said she'd come home right away. Then he called 911.

DeFazio lay on the floor and screamed in pain until the ambulance arrived. When the paramedics came, he bit his lip and quieted down. Until the ambulance ride. Every bump was a moment of agony. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Can I still scream?" he asked one of the paramedics,

"Be my guest. Scream all you want," the man responded.

He screamed all the way to Miriam Hospital in Providence.

When John returned home, his shoulder back in place but months of rehabilitation ahead, his constant companion was waiting, wagging her tail.

John and Shapleigh are best friends, with a business relationship. Shapleigh is no normal dog; she is a service dog -- an assistant for the day-to-day things John can no longer do.

On command, Shapleigh carries bags in mouth, turns lights on and off, fetches videotapes out of the VCR. She even took off John's socks -- until he ended that practice because his footwear had too many tooth holes. They go out into the yard and play together, Shapleigh playfully fetching a stick, but then instantly snapping to attention when John needs her for a task.

"When I go to work, I don't worry about him. [Shapleigh] proved that I don't have to," said his wife, Marie.

Since his fall in December, John has not been able to walk. He knows he will probably never walk again. He is essentially chained to his large, electronic wheelchair.

"My walking days are over. I know that," he said. And without being able to walk, he is unable to leave the house more than once a week.

Shapleigh, he believes, is the key. The dog has brought back a semblance of normalcy for John -- and hopefully, she is the key to bringing even more of his old life back. He wants out of the house. To do that, he needs a specialized van that can accomodate his wheelchair. And to get that, he needs money -- $37,000, at least.

The DeFazios are planning a fundraiser for Sept. 1, and using the dog as the centerpiece: the Driving Miss Shapleigh fundraiser dinner, a comedy show, auction, and concert that they hope will bring in enough money to get John close to his goal of greater freedom.

John was diagnosed with MS nine years ago. At first, he just thought his balance was off. He was an active man, who owned a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in West Warwick, called Crossroads. But he kept falling. Soon, he realized something was wrong.

But he was proud, and didn't want to acknowledge that his body was degrading -- only a few years before, he had survived a bout with thyroid cancer. He could overcome this, he thought. But his coordination worsened.

"I'd be staggering, and moms would think I was drunk and grab their kids," John said.

Eventually, John relented and walked with a cane. Then, later, with a crutch. But soon, those weren't enough to keep him functioning. The breakthrough was Shapleigh.

Shapleigh, a part-labrador, part-greyhound named for a town in Maine, is the product of a specialized dog-training school in Princton, Mass., called National Education for Assistance Dog Services-- NEADS. It trains dogs for service with the blind and disabled.

"I was at a Multiple Sclerosis Christmas party, and somebody had a dog from NEADS. And I was like, tell me everything. Everything," John said.

Her training -- which cost $12,000, which the DeFazios covered through fundraising -- took more than six months, with John participating in two weeks of it, as the two got to know each other. He received the dog in October of 2003.

Shapleigh is like a machine -- seemingly, you can turn her on and off. She has a special apron that proclaims, "Please don't pet, I'm working." When the apron is on, she's on the clock. Her ears slide back, and she is prepared to respond to any command.

"These dogs make a difference. Even before the fall, she had improved the quality of John's life immeasurably," Marie said.

In public, Shapleigh is an ambassador. Children see her, and want to pet her. Adults see her, and realize that John is not a stumbling drunk -- he is a man with a disability.

Now, he hopes that his best friend will help him one more time -- that the story of her devotion will be enough to bring people to his fundraiser.

The fundraiser will be held at Lombardi's 1025 Club in Johnston on Thursday, ea/addSept. 1. Tickets cost $35, and can be purchased by calling Marie at 943-6505, or by e-mailing at mdefazio@juno.com. Also, donations can be made to The Driving Miss Shapleigh Fund, c/o Citizens Bank, 1090 Charles St., North Providence, RI 02904.