A 10-year-old boy who suffered burns on 98 percent of his body and recently had both his legs amputated had his dreams come true when he met his inspiration – quadruple-amputee therapy dog named Chi Chi.
Owen Mahan from Pittsboro, Indiana, flew to Arizona on Friday to meet Chi Chi. He had no idea he would be meeting the dog that inspired him.
His mother, Susan Mahan, enlisted the help of hundreds of people to make Owen’s dream come true.
A 10-year-old boy double-amputee had his dreams come true when he met quadruple-amputee therapy dog named Chi Chi
‘He saw a video about Chi Chi and said he wanted to meet Chi Chi…’ she said to 12News. ‘Hundreds of people got together and just contributed to make this happen.’
‘He had no clue what we were doing,’ Susan said. ‘He had no idea Chi Chi was going to be here.’
Owen fell into a hot water bath when he was two years old and suffered burns on 98 percent of his body. He was not expected to survive.
Owen Mahan from Pittsboro, Indiana, flew to Arizona on Friday to meet Chi Chi. He had no idea he would be meeting the dog that inspired him
Owen and Chi Chi even got to play sports together during their weekend in Arizona
He’s had multiple surgeries every year since. He had both his legs amputated in June and February of this year.
Susan met Owen when he was three and took him in as a foster child, before later adopting him.
After the amputations, one of Owen’s teachers showed him and Susan videos of Chi Chi online.
The three-year-old Golden Retriever was found in South Korea dumped in a trash bin. She needed all four legs amputated
After Owen’s amputations, one of his teachers showed him and Susan videos of Chi Chi online
The three-year-old Golden Retreiver came to Elizabeth Howell and her family from South Korea in 2016. She was found dumped in a trash bin and had to get all four of her legs amputated.
‘Every picture I see of her she looks like she’s smiling,’ Susan said. ‘Owen is the same way. He comes out of surgery smiling, so they’re both smiling and they’re both like so something bad happened to me, let’s just move on.’
When Howell learned that Owen was one of the people following the dog online, she began coordinating ways to help get the family to meet Chi Chi.
Susan met Owen when he was three and took him in as a foster child, before later adopting him
NASCAR star Tony Howard loaned the family his private plane for the trip.
Owen and Chi Chi were guests at a NASCAR event and even played sports together.
‘Owen is an amazing young man and has persevered and overcome challenges like Chi Chi has,’ Howell said. ‘That really spoke to us and we wanted to do something special to celebrate him.’
Owen and Chi Chi both have GoFundMe pages to help with their medical costs.