This is an amazing “love story” of a service dog and a 5-year-old autistic boy. Read on to check out how this man’s best friend brought back the charm that was missing in the life of this child.
4 Paws For Ability, a nonprofit organization in Ohio, assigns service dogs for children with disabilities and for veterans. They were often asked why they place service dogs with children.
“See this moment? I’ve never experienced a moment like this. Yesterday was the first day my 5-year-old Autistic son met his new Autism Service Dog, Tornado. We are Americans that live overseas in Japan and have prepared for nearly two years to meet Tornado.”
This picture captures the face of a mother, who watches her child, who she can’t hug, wash, dress, snuggle and touch freely, lay on his new Service dog out of his own free will and unconditional attachment.
This is the face of a mom who has seen her son experience countless failed social interactions on the playground in an attempt to have a friend.
She would sit with her son while he cried at night because he had no consistent connections outside of the family, no matter how hard he tried or how hard he worked in his Autism therapies. And now she sits behind her son, silently watching this awesome moment.
“It’s worth every fight for services for my son, every diagnosis, every new provider, every dollar spent, every paper filled out, every school meeting, every shed tear, every step forward, every step back, and every wonder of the unknown future. Somehow because of this – because of Tornado – I know everything will be okay. As a mother, I have seen countless challenging and painful moments my son has encountered and cried countless more. Yesterday however, I cried for a different reason. It is a feeling that is indescribable.”
You can watch Kai’s video of meeting Tornado for the first time, here.