Johnny Scardasis-Finn was born with a rare condition known as Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. The kid’s doctor said that Johnny suffered from this condition because his umbilical cord wrapped itself three times around his neck. The accident caused permanent damage to his brain because there was a lack of oxygen during his delivery.
Since Johnny has no control of his upper and lower extremities, the kid would often feel painful muscle spasms, forcing him to stay in bed. But while he has this disability, Johnny could recognize his surroundings. The kid’s frontal lobe remains undamaged, so this makes him curious about things around him.
Growing up, Johnny missed several important events that a boy his age should be enjoying. Johnny’s parents, Jeff and Katherine, are no strangers to this fact. According to the parents, they feel bad about their son’s condition, but they could not do anything other than support Johnny.
But since Jeff and Katherine want their son to live a normal life, the kid’s parents thought of adopting a therapy dog for Johnny. Katherine is an animal rescuer, so she is aware of the good effects that a therapy dog could bring to Johnny. With this, they visited Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue, where they adopted Lexi.
Lexi is a gentle dog despite her big stature, so Katherine thought that the dog is a perfect fit for Johnny. After processing Lexi’s adoption papers, Jeff and Katherine brought home the dog and introduced her to Johnny. When Lexi saw Johnny for the first time, there was a spark in the dog’s eyes.
With this, Jeff and Katherine believe that they made the right choice of choosing Lexi as Johnny’s therapy dog. Lexi is Johnny’s first-ever friend. But this is not noticeable because whenever they are together, it seems that Johnny and Lexi have known each other for too long.
Credits to The Petco Foundation.
