Dogs just keep proving why they are man’s best friend. Did you know that a boy’s footprints were found along side a dog’s that dated back to the Ice Age? That’s a long time for dogs and humans to hang out together!
Anyways, the most recent reason to love dogs is that recently a mom bought her disabled son a puppy. The boy’s name is Hugh and he was born with a rare genetic disorder known as FOXG1 syndrome. This syndrome impairs the ways the brain develops and doesn’t allow the brain to structure properly.
The International FOXG1 Foundation categorized the disorder on their website as:
“This severe condition is characterized by seizures, inability to control body movements, and lack of speech.
While the spectrum of abilities is quite broad depending on the exact genetic mutation, many of our children cannot walk or talk, and they struggle to communicate their most basic daily needs.”
Emma, Hugh’s mother, got the puppy for him a few weeks ago and from this footage it looks like they won’t be separating for awhile. Emma captioned it with:
“We took a year to decide to get a dog. We’ve had Barney 4 weeks. He’s a crazy, bouncy, yampy puppy that gets so excited he wees! Yet with Hugh, my wonderful, profoundly disabled, son he’s calm & understanding. Definitely the right decision.”
We took a year to decide to get a dog. We’ve had Barney 4 weeks. He’s a crazy, bouncy, yampy puppy that gets so excited he wees! Yet with Hugh, my wonderful, profoundly disabled, son he’s calm & understanding. Definitely the right decision. #PMLD #springerspaniel #FOXG1syndrome pic.twitter.com/is24GcOTJ5
— Little Mama Murphy (@HappyLittleHugh) July 30, 2018
In the video you can see how happy Hugh and Barney are in each other’s arms. At one point the two even high five, though neither may even know what that is.
She went onto say also:
“Barney is learning to be incredibly gentle and calm with Hugh. This isn’t something we taught him and both my husband and I were moved to tears just watching the beautiful and unexpected interaction between Hugh and Barney.”
Hugh’s mom thought long and hard about getting a puppy but I think she made the right decision. She went onto say:
“We thought long and hard about getting a dog. On the one side we hoped it would be good for Hugh, that they could have a special relationship but we were worried that our chaotic life (the frequent hospital trips) wouldn’t be fair on a dog.
We looked at rehoming/adopting a dog but couldn’t be sure that an older dog would be able to handle Hugh and all the tubes and machines and beeping and erratic movements. But a puppy isn’t easy and, I’ll be honest, I want sure if we’d made the right decision getting one. Even though we spent ages deciding.”
She also spoke upon the moment that she saw between Barney and Hugh and it was simply beautiful. She concluded:
“Maybe I caught him at a good time, or maybe he’s learning Hugh needs something different. Who knows? Either way, it was a beautiful, beautiful moment.”