AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
WHEN Amanda Leask rescued a dog from a horrific dog meat truck in Thailand, she never could have imagined the incredible effect he would have on her severely autistic son.
Miracle was on board a truck for the restaurants of Vietnam when Amanda Leask stumbled across a picture of him on Facebook.
Amanda, Kyle and Miracle. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
After securing his rescue, Amanda, from Inverness, embarked on a mission to get him home to Scotland.
After bringing him home two years ago, Miracle has changed the life of her six-year-old son Kyle who was born with cerebral palsy and autism.
“It was an independent rescuer that I followed regularly because she had already saved two of my other dogs from exactly the same thing”, Amanda explains.
“She was posting these pictures and one morning I just happened to tune into her page and saw a picture of this dog hanging off this truck, unsure if it was even alive.
Miracle before he was brought to Scotland. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“I said get the dog out and I’ll sponsor it and raise funds. It was very difficult to know if he was still alive and could keep infection at bay. I just hoped that a miracle would happen.”
Due to the number of stray dogs, those that are saved are kept in the equivalent of a cattle hold where it’s survival of the fittest.
Miracle was housed among 3,000 other dogs for eight weeks, where he got seriously ill while suffering from a horrific skin condition. He would go on to spend another nine months in a Bangkok clinic before he was well enough to make the lengthy journey to Scotland.
Miracle suffered from a serious skin condition before he was rescued. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“Friends and fellow rescuers acted as flight volunteers and agreed to add Miracle to their ticket. A friend of mine brought him and another five rescues from the dog meat trade over and I flew down to London to collect him”, the 46 year-old adds.
Amanda and Miracle arrived at Waverly train station on the 4th of April 2014 - World Stray Animal’s Day.
Upon arriving back home with the new member of the family, the mother of one wasn’t sure what to expect. Her son Kyle, who suffers from both cerebral palsy and autism, is unable to speak and only makes sounds.
“When you bring a rescue dog in you’ve got to be really careful, especially when you’ve got kids”, she says. “You never say never - the most well tempered dog could have their buttons pushed and could turn, you just never know.
“We knew he would have issues so we were very careful. All the dogs love Kyle so we weren’t looking for a special relationship or anything. We always make sure that he is above the dogs for that whole pack hierarchy thing.
“You pretty much can tell that a dog has got a nice disposition about it and Miracle was like that, he was just a friendly dog.”
As time progressed, Amanda and her husband Tobias began to notice that Miracle had a different kind of relationship with their son than the other dogs they had rescued. The street dog enjoys keeping a close eye on Kyle and watches over him in true gentleman fashion.
“When Kyle has a bit of a meltdown, you need to get him at the right time, but the dog can alleviate that. Because autistic children are very sensory, touching Miracle or just seeing him walking about wagging his tail can help his symptoms.
Amanda with her son Kyle, husband Tobias and Miracle. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“In general it’s a friendship. Miracle lets us know when Kyle’s special taxi is pulling into the drive and barks until its offloaded but as soon as he’s in the house, he goes quiet. He walks around the pram and licks and sniffs him, he doesn’t clamber all over him like other dogs would - he’s very intune.”
Kyle and Miracle’s connection hasn’t gone unnoticed with the pair picking up the Friends for Life award at Crufts 2015 and the Daily Mirror and RSPCA’s rescue animal of the year award. Following the wins, Amanda was encouraged to share her story in her first book called Miracle.
“Our past few years haven’t been a happy time and I didn’t want it to be this happy go lucky book because that’s not what it’s about. I wanted it to be very honest.
“I would love to see something happen in the future focusing on how the bond between human and canine can be recognised. Miracle and Kyle have become ambassadors for the fact that dogs from a very horrible place can make loving pets. I think we can help many, many other dogs.”
SOURCE: http://www.scotsman.com/giving-back...et-dog-changes-life-of-autistic-boy-1-4111002
WHEN Amanda Leask rescued a dog from a horrific dog meat truck in Thailand, she never could have imagined the incredible effect he would have on her severely autistic son.
Miracle was on board a truck for the restaurants of Vietnam when Amanda Leask stumbled across a picture of him on Facebook.
Amanda, Kyle and Miracle. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
After securing his rescue, Amanda, from Inverness, embarked on a mission to get him home to Scotland.
After bringing him home two years ago, Miracle has changed the life of her six-year-old son Kyle who was born with cerebral palsy and autism.
“It was an independent rescuer that I followed regularly because she had already saved two of my other dogs from exactly the same thing”, Amanda explains.
“She was posting these pictures and one morning I just happened to tune into her page and saw a picture of this dog hanging off this truck, unsure if it was even alive.
Miracle before he was brought to Scotland. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“I said get the dog out and I’ll sponsor it and raise funds. It was very difficult to know if he was still alive and could keep infection at bay. I just hoped that a miracle would happen.”
Due to the number of stray dogs, those that are saved are kept in the equivalent of a cattle hold where it’s survival of the fittest.
Miracle was housed among 3,000 other dogs for eight weeks, where he got seriously ill while suffering from a horrific skin condition. He would go on to spend another nine months in a Bangkok clinic before he was well enough to make the lengthy journey to Scotland.
Miracle suffered from a serious skin condition before he was rescued. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“Friends and fellow rescuers acted as flight volunteers and agreed to add Miracle to their ticket. A friend of mine brought him and another five rescues from the dog meat trade over and I flew down to London to collect him”, the 46 year-old adds.
Amanda and Miracle arrived at Waverly train station on the 4th of April 2014 - World Stray Animal’s Day.
Upon arriving back home with the new member of the family, the mother of one wasn’t sure what to expect. Her son Kyle, who suffers from both cerebral palsy and autism, is unable to speak and only makes sounds.
“When you bring a rescue dog in you’ve got to be really careful, especially when you’ve got kids”, she says. “You never say never - the most well tempered dog could have their buttons pushed and could turn, you just never know.
“We knew he would have issues so we were very careful. All the dogs love Kyle so we weren’t looking for a special relationship or anything. We always make sure that he is above the dogs for that whole pack hierarchy thing.
“You pretty much can tell that a dog has got a nice disposition about it and Miracle was like that, he was just a friendly dog.”
As time progressed, Amanda and her husband Tobias began to notice that Miracle had a different kind of relationship with their son than the other dogs they had rescued. The street dog enjoys keeping a close eye on Kyle and watches over him in true gentleman fashion.
“When Kyle has a bit of a meltdown, you need to get him at the right time, but the dog can alleviate that. Because autistic children are very sensory, touching Miracle or just seeing him walking about wagging his tail can help his symptoms.
Amanda with her son Kyle, husband Tobias and Miracle. Picture: Miracle/ Ebury Press
“In general it’s a friendship. Miracle lets us know when Kyle’s special taxi is pulling into the drive and barks until its offloaded but as soon as he’s in the house, he goes quiet. He walks around the pram and licks and sniffs him, he doesn’t clamber all over him like other dogs would - he’s very intune.”
Kyle and Miracle’s connection hasn’t gone unnoticed with the pair picking up the Friends for Life award at Crufts 2015 and the Daily Mirror and RSPCA’s rescue animal of the year award. Following the wins, Amanda was encouraged to share her story in her first book called Miracle.
“Our past few years haven’t been a happy time and I didn’t want it to be this happy go lucky book because that’s not what it’s about. I wanted it to be very honest.
“I would love to see something happen in the future focusing on how the bond between human and canine can be recognised. Miracle and Kyle have become ambassadors for the fact that dogs from a very horrible place can make loving pets. I think we can help many, many other dogs.”
SOURCE: http://www.scotsman.com/giving-back...et-dog-changes-life-of-autistic-boy-1-4111002
