Dad notices rescue dog acting strange with son who is passing away. That’s when he understands
The family wanted a service dog to help care for their special needs child, and found a wonderful solution.
Lucas Hembree was born with Sanfilippo syndrome, a disease that has no cure, and grows progressively worse, ending only in an early death.
As reported by Liftable, his father, Chester Hembree, wanted desperately to find his son a service dog to help him.
Sanfilippo syndrome results in aggressive behavior, hyperactivity, and seizures.
Man's best friend has long been wonderful for more than just companionship. Various studies have shown that they help to reduce stress and depression, and encourage better health by requiring exercise. Many even consider them to be part of the family.
Nowadays dogs can be trained to be more than just a fur-baby companion. They can be fire dogs, police dogs, sniffer dogs, and even medical sniffers that detect illness in people before symptoms show.
Service dogs are also trained to help people who have visual disabilities, hearing problems, or all manner of other diseases, including ones that cause seizures.
But when Chester started looking for service dog for Lucas, he was confronted with a hefty $15,000 price tag. He was also advised that Lucas' conditions were not conducive to dog ownership.
Chester refused to accept this answer. The family continued to search and pray, and finally found Juno, a dog who was set to be euthanized if he wasn't rescued soon.
The family quickly piled into the car, driving two hours to meet Juno. He went back home with them.
When they arrived home, they still needed to ensure that he and Lucas would get along well. But they weren't prepared for the instant connection between the boy and his dog.
After just a short time bonding, Juno had become the best indicator of Lucas' health and mental state, picking up on miniscule differences in the little boy's neurological state. He even once or twice managed to warn his parents of Lucas's low oxygen levels!
The family are incredibly grateful for having found Juno, and the wonderful impact he has had on Lucas' life in particular.
