Age 10 Boy with Asperger's on Cloud Nine After Return of Stolen German Shepherd
Do you have a close friend or even someone who could be described as a best friend? If so, imagine what it would be like if that individual simply up and vanished.
Some of us have lived that reality due to factors such as disease or accidents. Usually, though, we can comprehend such as loss, find a way to mentally manage it.
For one boy from Christiana, Tennessee, though, the disappearance of his closest chum proved anything but easy to deal with. See, the boy has Asperger’s syndrome and his friend was a German Shepherd.
According to WSMV-TV, 10-year-old Justin White struggles with ordinary interactions. In addition to dealing with Asperger’s syndrome, he also has ADHD.
One thing kept Justin tethered: He had a German Shepherd named Goblin, a dog he considered his best friend.
Justin’s mom, Christina White, described the animal as the boy’s “lifeline.” Yet someone severed it with a thoughtless action.
On March 10, surveillance video captured footage of a man in white Honda Civic pulling up to the White home. The man got out of the vehicle, took Goblin and placed him in the car.
Justin was devastated by the theft of his beloved dog.
“Heartwrenching, because I can’t do anything about it,” Christina White told WZTV.
“He has had me hold him almost every night to get him to sleep, because his buddy’s not there. He’s used to sleeping with this big, old German Shepherd taking up most of his bed, and he’s used to Goblin being right there beside him.”
Goblin isn’t technically a service dog, but he has formed a truly genuine bond with his young charge.
“I think Goblin was a safe place for him,” White said. “He knew nobody was going to get to him, nobody could hurt him, nobody was going to laugh at him, because he had this wonderful friend with me.
“We miss him. We had him for no other reason than we loved him.
“He wasn’t worth money to us. He’s worth so much more. We just want him home.”
And that was exactly what the family got. A man brought Goblin back to the family nine days after his disappearance, according to WGNS.
The pooch was returned in the middle of the afternoon. Given the timing, White decided to have him waiting for Justin when he returned home.
“Justin is going to be super excited,” she said. And he was, a great grin breaking out on his face at the sight of his best friend.
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