No one can touch this 9-year-old autistic boy — except his loyal Labrador, who refuses to leave his side.
As James Isaac awaited an MRI at the Wellington Children’s Hospital in New Zealand earlier this month, his therapy dog, Mahe, curled up right next to him on the bed.
“For Mahe, James is his best mate, he is all about James,” his mom, Michelle, told the New Zealand site Stuff.
The 3-year-old black lab stayed with the boy until he was wheeled into the procedure.
Mahe was specially trained by the Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust to help James, who is severely autistic and cannot speak or tolerate any human contact.
Michelle said before Mahe entered their lives, they couldn’t even sit in a cafe as a family.
“James would get very anxious and want to leave immediately,” she said. “But when we got Mahe, James would just sit there waiting for us to finish our coffee.”
“There is such magic that happens between a child with autism and the dogs,” she continued. “They just calm the kids down.”