Desperately in need of some good news? This extra-special story will do the trick!
It involves cute dogs and cute kids and kind adults. The magical “happy news stories” trifecta!
At an American Kennel Club dog show, a little girl with autism brought her stuffed dog to watch the competition. One of the judges noticed her, and he generously asked her if she’d like to “show” her stuffed dog — just like the real dogs competing in the show.
Happily, the girl complied. She ran around in a circle with the dog in tow, parading him around the stage. Afterward, she went back to the judge and gave him a big ol’ hug.
Luckily for those of us who weren’t there, someone captured video of this moment and posted it on Reddit. It promptly melted everyone’s hearts and now has over 58,000 upvotes.
Watch it for yourself:
Dog show judge asks little girl with autism if she wants to show her dog like the others
byu/hiimcoleman inaww
According to one commenter, this is a real thing, in real life, for many kids at dog shows.
“This looks like a peewee class!” the Reddit user orangetangerine wrote. “They offer this at dog shows so the kids can participate without the potential risk of using a real dog and getting hurt/losing control. It’s adorable but also hilarious because of the bouncing stuffed dogs haha.”
For kids who are old enough, there’s also Junior Showmanship, an often-free program with the AKC where children ages 9 to 18 years old “learn basic handling abilities, and how to care for, and present, different breeds in a competition.” This involves real dogs, not the stuffed kind.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
