MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– A family in Mount Sterling is hoping to give their eight-year-old son with Down Syndrome a lifelong companion.
They are working with an organization that would breed and train a service dog, specifically for their son’s needs, but they have to raise $17,000.
Levi Vernon, 8, was born with Down Syndrome and his compassionate family wants to give him a life where he has the freedom that every young boy should have.
His mother, April, said that Levi is always exploring everything around him. Levi’s athletic side started to show this year, when the third-grader joined his schools cross country team.
“He loves to run but we have to run with him. At all the meets, my husband or I are not too far behind, just to make sure he’s safe,” said April.
This past year, they discovered an organization called4 Paws For Ability. They will breed and train a service dog that would always be with Levi, but April said raising $17,000 is a lot of money.
“I just feel like there is no price you can put on keeping your child safe,” she said.
Levi has speech apraxia and it would be hard for him to tell someone his name or phone number if he was separated from his family. The service dog could offer so much to the 8-year-old’s livelihood.
“It can be trained to deep pressure if he wakes up at night to lay on him and give him deep pressure and help him fall back asleep, so he’s not wandering the house at night,” April said.
You can donate to the Facebook fundraiser here.
