New Brunswick, Canada– A New Brunswick couple have become modern day heroes after a dog trained specifically for a little autistic girl in Nova Scotia was tragically shot and killed a few days before it was due to be delivered to her.
The dog called Jude, had undergone rigorous training to support the little girl with trainer Dave Wood. A training dog usually takes up to six months to prepare for an individual with autism, at a cost of around 30,000 USD.
Jude was found lying dead in the yard with footsteps leading to and away from the body, Mr Wood believes the dog to have been shot, perhaps mistakenly as a coyote.
Mr Wood said:
“When he died…the little girl was pretty much devastated.”
According to CTV News, another couple owned a litter mate of Jude and decided they wanted to help. Woods says,
“The people who had Penny got thinking about the tragedy of the whole thing and they decided they wanted to donate her for the same purpose.”
Mr Woods and his wife decided to take on a new dog, a standard poodle called Penny, even though they were reticent to do so after the sudden death of Jude.
A full synopsis and video of training can be read in the article reported by CTV Atlantic news here.