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Three-legged dog changes disabled boy’s life
The inspiring story of the friendship between eight-year-old Owen Howkins and his beloved pet Haatchi has been made into an award-winning short film - and now a book.
By Becky Barnes
A dog that was hit over the head and abandoned on a railway line is now best friends with an eight-year-old who has a rare genetic disorder.
Haatchi the Anatolian Shepherd was just a five-month-old puppy when he wandered into the path of a train. Vets managed to save his life, but he lost a leg and his tail.
Now, two years later, he has been credited with changing the life of little Owen Howkins from Basingstoke.
“He does look after me and he is special,” said Owen, who suffers from Schwartz-Jampel syndrome, which causes his muscles to tense permanently.
Largely confined to a wheelchair, Owen was once withdrawn and anxious and found it difficult to make friends.
But all that changed with Haatchi’s arrival.
After being nursed back to health by the RSPCA, a Facebook appeal brought young Haatchi to the attention of Owen’s stepmother Colleen Drummond.
“In that moment I literally took a gasp of breath,” said Drummond, recalling the moment she first laid eyes on Haatchi.
“I had never felt like that about any dog ever in my life.”
And it was love at first sight when Drummond took Owen to the disabled pet home.
“There was an instant bond,” she recalls.
“It’s like they both knew that each other were different and there was an instant acceptance of those differences.”
Haatchi was crowned winner of the Friends for Life Award at Crufts 2013 after winning 54% of a public vote.
The pair were also awarded the Braveheart award at the inaugural British Animal Honours ceremony, televised on ITV1.
As well as the inspiring award-winning short film on YouTube made by University of Hertfordshire filmmaking students, their story has now been told in a new book.
Haatchi and Little B (Owen’s family nicknamed him Little Buddy) is available now for £12.99.
Haatchi the hero dog
Source: http://home.bt.com/news/uknews/threelegged...-11363878309976
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Three-legged dog changes disabled boy’s life2 Marzo 2014 |
