In 2019, the Bowling family created a bucket list. They wanted to give their youngest member, Mason, a six-year-old autistic boy, a service dog.
However, they did not have enough money to get one, so they looked for other ways to raise the required amount. Thankfully, the community they live in was supportive and helped them to get the young kid his much-needed service dog.
Four-year-old Mason Bowling has autism and a genetic chromosome disorder. Her mom, Danielle, wants to get a service dog for Mason to help him develop his social skills.
She also thinks that a service dog will help his son to calm down and be happy. A service dog will be awesome to help Mason to be more confident when he is with other kids.
Moreover, the service dog that the Bowling family will get for Mason will also be trained to do search and rescue to prevent Mason from losing his way.
The Challenge – Raising The Money Required
The biggest challenge for Mason’s family is raising the required amount for a service dog. One service dog may cost up to $25,000. Despite the huge amount needed, the Bowling family will do everything to get Mason the service dog he needs.
Danielle created a specific Facebook group so that she could communicate with the community. She shared fund-raising events there in the hopes of getting people’s attention to support her family’s cause. Moreover, Danielle also posted updates about Mason’s progress.
Slowly, donations started to pour in for the autistic boy. Every day, more and more people gave their support to Mason’s cause.
Surprisingly, former professional basketball player Damon Johnson even organized a charity basketball tournament to help the Bowling family. The said event raised thousands of dollars, enough to get Mason his much-needed service dog!
Service Dogs Make A Huge Difference For Autistic Children
Two years after the Bowling family made a goal of getting Mason a service dog, they welcomed Kevin into their household! Being a sweet and adorable black Labrador retriever, training Kevin to address Mason’s needs was undemanding.
Kevin will help Mason in managing and controlling his meltdowns and aggression. Also, Kevin was trained to do search and rescue and to retrieve Mason’s medications if needed.
Welcome, Kevin, to the Bowling family! Create memories together with Mason! Thank you to all the dogs who help autistic children through life.
Photos courtesy of Danielle Stevens Bowling via Facebook
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