9-Year-Old Boy with Autism Relies on His Service Dog to Keep Him Safe and Calm While in the Hospital

Where James Isaac goes, Mahe follows – even into the boy's hospital bed.

The 9-year-old Wellington boy is autistic and relies on the black Labrador to keep him safe and calm.

James cannot speak, and recoils from touch and eye contact with his family.

But he will curl up happily with Mahe.

“And for Mahe, James is his best mate, he is all about James," mum Michelle Isaac said.

So important is the bond that Mahe was allowed to join James at the Wellington Children's Hospital as he underwent an MRI scan to diagnose the cause of his seizures.

As he went under general anesthetic, Mahe watched with concern, nuzzling his master's face.

"He was just looking at James, and looking really worried."

As Michelle waited in the hospital cafe for the scan to end, Mahe sat beside her, calming the mother as he had calmed the son.

"I was really shaken, it was pretty stressful watching James struggle."

Life for the Isaac family has improve immensely since Mahe came into their lives, 2½ years ago.

Michelle said going out into public with James used to be nightmare. He was likely to run off and lose the plot in any unfamiliar or over-stimulating involvement.

"We couldn't even go to a cafe as a family. James would get very anxious and want to leave immediately. But when we got Mahe, James would just sit there waiting for us to finish our coffee."

Mahe's presence not only calms James, but keeps him safe. Out and about, he is attached to Mahe on a tether. If he strays too far, or starts running towards a busy road, Mahe sits down and won't budge.

The Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust trained Mahe for six months from a puppy to help children with autism.

The trust trains puppies to help people with a range of disabilities, from autism to diabetes to cerebral palsy.

The dogs can be taught to distract their owners, warn other family members of an impending medical event, or track down missing people and objects.

Wendy Isaacs, the trust's funding development manager, said Mahe had been picked for autism training because of his calm demeanor.

"There is such a magic that happens between a child with autism and the dogs, they just calm the kids down. The kids will maintain eye contact with the dog, but often not with their own parents and siblings."

If James' seizures persisted, Mahe could also be trained to pick up on early warning sign and whine or bark to alert his parents, she said.

To learn more about assistance dogs, visit the trust's website. 

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Family of Autistic Boy Launched a Fundraising Campaign to Get $12,500 Needed for a Therapy Dog: Taylor Swift Donates $10,000

Two schoolgirls who created their own version of one of Taylor Swift's most famous songs to raise money for their autistic relative have received a huge donation from the popstar herself.

Jordan Fox and Makaylee Duhon, who are both 12, joined together to rewrite the lyrics to Swift's hit 'Blank Space' as a way of helping Jacob Hill, who suffers from autism.

Jacob, who is five, suffers from the condition, which makes it harder for him socialize and he is prone to wandering off from his parents.

His mother Allison was keen for Jacob to be given a service dog, which would stop him from putting himself in constant danger.

His family then launched a fund-raising campaign to gather together the $12,500 needed to train a dog and his sister Jordan and cousin Makaylee decided to rework one of Swift's songs where they plead for donations.

The video of their song, their own take on Blank Space, was posted to YouTube and spotted by the hitmaker who wanted to help out the cause.

She then went on the appeal's Gofundme page and donated $10,000, meaning the family now have enough for a therapy dog.

Writing on the page, Swift and her mother Andrea Swift, wrote: “Jacob, we hope you love your new dog! Please tell your cousins that they did a great job on the song! Love, Taylor and Andrea Swift.”

And when the two girls were told that Ms. Swift had made the donation, they were shocked.

Makaylee told KPRC: “She was like, 2Taylor Swift just donated $10,000.

And we were all like, 'Oh my gosh!”

While Jordan added: “I couldn't just look at this situation and ignore it, because he's my brother.

I love him a lot. He's really special to me.”

A service dog will now be chosen for Jacob and will take two and a half years to train before going to live with the family.

Schoolgirls Jordan Fox and Makaylee Duhon, who created their own version of one of Taylor Swift's most famous songs to raise money for their autistic relative Jacob Hill, pictured.

The two girls reworked the words to the song Blank Space and performed a music video to go with it, which they posted online.

After posting the video online for Jacob, left, it was spotted by Taylor Swift, right, who donated $10,000 to help him afford a service dog.

The hitmaker spotted the girls' song on YouTube and wanted to help Jacob afford to get his service dog.

When the two girls were told by Jacob's mother, Allison that Swift had made the donation, they were shocked.

Thanks to the popstar's donation, the family now have enough money to afford to train the dog.

The message that Swift and her mother Andrea left on Gofundme after making their donation.

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An Autistic Boy Finds The Meaning of Love…Through a Pit Bull

Humans often face a lot of difficulties. Whether it’s financial, emotional, or physical, life is rarely easy. Joey, a boy with autism, had a hard time adjusting to many things. He especially had a hard time expressing love and affection, but that all changed once he met Roxy. Watch their amazing story unfold right here.

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