Special puppy could change local lad’s life

THE family of a Northside boy who suffers with global developmental delay and a form of cerbal palsy believe his dreams are about to come true thanks to a very special dog.

Duy Bolger from Oldtown, Co Dublin, is confined to a wheelchair and requires 24 hour care but his parents, relatives and friends of the family have come together to raise funds so he can have a service puppy.

A service puppy is a highly trained dog that can be taught to cater for the individual needs of disabled children and Duy’s dad, Paul, says it’ll totally transform his son’s life.

The nine-year-old met his puppy a few weeks ago and named him Bubbles and last week Paul, his Vietnamese wife Louise and Duy welcomed the new canine addition to their home.

“Duy is full of life, as best as he can be, and he absolutely loves dogs,

? Paul, who works with Lanigans Funeral Home in Beaumont, told Northside People.

“He is an extremely bubbly child and full of fun. If you are feeling down, just spend five minutes with him and he’ll lift your spirits again.

?

Paul and Louise first heard about service puppies from former Dublin goalkeeper and captain, John O’Leary, and his wife Catherine whose son Tom has profound special needs.
Tom has a service puppy and the O’Learys visited the Bolgers with Tom’s dog and introduced him to a delighted Duy. The Bolgers then began fundraising to get the

?¬6,088 needed for Duy’s puppy.

“At the end of the day you’d do anything for your kid,

? said Paul.

“And the difference it will make to our little fellah’s life will be unbelieveable.

?

Bubbles is not just great company for Duy, he could also save his life. Duy has epilepsy and will be trained to find Paul or Louise if he takes a seizure.

The dog will also be able to trigger a panic alarm or fetch Duy’s anti-seizure medication if he senses an attack is imminent.

“Bubbles will be able to open doors, and Duy will get a great kick out of that,

? said Paul.

“Duy can’t hold objects for more than a few seconds and the dog will be able to pick up things he drops and give them back to him.

“Also, if Duy was rolling on the ground the dog can get in the way and act as a barrier if he’s rolling towards danger.

?

Thanks to the tremendous generousity of friends of the family, the Bolgers have almost raised enough money to pay for Bubbles’ training. However, Paul says they’re determained to keep going until they reach their target and will donate any excess cash to Service Dogs Europe.

“Whatever we get will go towards funding for the dog and anything we get over that will go to help another child get a service dog,

? he added.

The Bolgers are hoping a Fundraising Quiz Night this Saturday (November 15) in Home Farm Football Club, Whitehall, will help them reach their goal. The event will include a raffle and a disco and will be hosted by singer Ritchie Hayes from Voice of Ireland and Celebrity Bainisteior.

All donations received on the night will go directly to Service Dogs Europe. Paul can be contacted on 087-9784923 for details.