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A three year old boy from Hampshire with Autism and a brain condition has a new outlook on life thanks to his assistance dog Fern.
Leon (widely known as Mancub) spent most of his life screaming. At fourteen weeks he was classed as “failure to thrive” by doctors and was fitted with a feeding tube. Just before his second birthday he was also diagnosed with autism and a condition known as chiari malformation which left him with severe headaches, causing him to head-butt.
Leon’s parents were originally looking for an adult male dog to help with their falconry business but Fern, a Cocker Spaniel puppy, had other ideas and chose them instead.
When Fern and Mancub met an instant bond was formed. Speaking to The Dogly Mail, Leon’s mother Hayley said, “Our little boy who avoided eye contact, avoided being close to anyone and was locked in his own little world had a sparkle in his eye about this little pup. A sparkle we had never seen before.
She followed him everywhere, when he cried she was there, when he head-butted the floor she was right underneath his head stopping his head connecting with the floor, she was a natural and her willingness to help keep him safe and happy amazed everyone.”
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Recognising this natural ability, Hayley decided to approach Lila Zachwatowicz of Temperament Dogs and Fern was sent for formal training. Mancub was unsurprisingly, very upset during this absence but videos were sent to ease the heartache and keep everybody informed of progress.
After her training, Fern is now able to recognise Leon's heightened stress. When he drops to his knees she nudges him to get him giggling, to change his mood. She also places her body between Leon and the floor to prevent him head butting the ground. She acts as a weighted blanket which helps to calm his mood.
Lila said, "Maybe her energy and size would not be something most trainers would choose when looking for a future Autism Support Dog but Ferny has chosen her job herself and will do anything for little Leon! She always puts her whole heart into anything that she is learning. She comes up with ideas herself to cheer Leon up or to calm him down when needed."
It is heartwarming to see how this very special dog has been able to change Leon's life for the better. A once non-verbal boy is now able to communicate and express his emotions in a way which has surprised his specialists. It is a credit to their strong bond and perhaps no surprise that the words he chose to speak were "og" and "ern".
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Fern and Leon's story was highlighted when Fern was entered into The Dogly Mail Mutt of the Month competition. After Hayley shared the entry via social media the sudden spike in traffic led to engineers scrambling to upgrade the server. Fern has a devoted following on social media and Hayley keeps them updated with photos and videos regularly.
Not content with only helping Leon, Fern also likes to help with the laundry by loading and unloading the machine. It's a task Leon and Fern enjoy doing together. She also opens doors, puts things in the bin and plays with Leon's sensory boards.
Hayley added, "We may have lost our hawking dog but we have gained so much more, the little boy that hid himself away and didn't communicate now talks non stop, we have a lot to thank Fern for, she's one in a million!"
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b9p0hk/mancubs_best_friend_transforms_daily_life_for/
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