Little boy who bonded with a therapy dog at the hospital receives puppy of his own

Two-year-old boy who bonded with a hospital’s therapy dog while recovering from open heart surgery gets a goldendoodle of his own

  • Truett Palmer underwent open heart surgery and received a transplant in October
  • The two-year-old from Owensville, Missouri, stayed at Boston’s Children Hospital for 10 weeks while recovering from surgery
  • During that time, he bonded with a goldendoodle therapy dog named Zuri
  • This encouraged his parents to get him a goldendoodle of his own at home 
  • The Palmer family adopted Zeda Grace from a nursing student in Kentucky 

A little boy who bonded with a therapy dog at the hospital while recovering from open heart surgery has now received a puppy to call his very own. 

Two-year-old Truett Palmer from Owensville, Missouri, was born with Mandibulofacial dysostosis with microcephaly (MFDM), a disorder which causes development delays and abnormalities in the face and heart. 

Due to his disorder, the toddler needed open heart surgery to fix a problem caused by a birth defect. And during recovery, he quickly bonded with a therapy dog — only to have to say goodbye upon leaving the hospital. 

His battle: Two-year-old Truett Palmer underwent open heart surgery and received a transplant

Sticking together: The child (pictured with his family) from Owensville, Missouri, stayed at Boston's Children Hospital for 10 weeks while recovering from surgery

Sticking together: The child (pictured with his family) from Owensville, Missouri, stayed at Boston’s Children Hospital for 10 weeks while recovering from surgery

Love: His parents adopted a goldendoodle named Zeda Grace (pictured) for Truett after he bonded with a therapy dog while recovering in the hospital

Love: His parents adopted a goldendoodle named Zeda Grace (pictured) for Truett after he bonded with a therapy dog while recovering in the hospital 

‘At Boston Children’s they did his open heart surgery to hopefully repair, make things better and give him a better quality of life,’ Danielle Palmer told Good Morning America. 

Surgeons were working to fix Truett’s congenital heart defect, truncus arteriosus, which is a disease that occurs when a single blood vessel comes out of the heart instead of two, according to the CDC. 

But complications during surgery caused Truett’s heart to fail. 

‘There were complications with the surgery and he had severe heart failure,’ Palmer said. ‘That’s what put him on heart transplant list.’

He received a heart in October, after which he spent ten weeks recovering in the hospital. That was long enough for Truett to form a special bond with Zuri, a female goldendoddle working as a therapy dog for the hospital. 

But Truett had to say goodbye to the dog when he was transferred to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri for another 12 weeks of recovery. 

Difficult time: Truett stayed in Boston for 10 weeks during recovery after receiving his transplant and then was moved to St. Louis Children's Hospital for 12 weeks

Difficult time: Truett stayed in Boston for 10 weeks during recovery after receiving his transplant and then was moved to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for 12 weeks 

Pushing through: The child (pictured with his mom, Danielle Palmer) was born with MFDM, a disorder which causes development delays and abnormalities in the face and heart

Pushing through: The child (pictured with his mom, Danielle Palmer) was born with MFDM, a disorder which causes development delays and abnormalities in the face and heart

Buddies: Truett was the one who named the goldendoodle for the family

Buddies: Truett was the one who named the goldendoodle for the family 

Close bond: His mom said the dog and child are inseparable now with Zeda always following him around wherever he goes

Close bond: His mom said the dog and child are inseparable now with Zeda always following him around wherever he goes 

His bond with the goldendoodle encouraged his parents to get a dog of his own once he returned home. 

Searching on Facebook, they found a Kentucky nursing student named Gena Gray who owned a female goldendoodle who just had puppies. 

Gray advertised the puppies and offered them for free, adding she was considering giving the animals to any families with a child who has special needs.

The Palmer family was one of more than a 100 people to reach out, but Gray picked them.

‘I’m humbled that she would even consider giving us such an amazing puppy,’ Palmer said. ‘For her to sacrifice that for our family because of what my child has gone through…it’s overwhelming.’

The family adopted one of Gray’s goldendoodle, which Truett named Zeda Grace. Since the adoption, the pair have been inseparable. 

Palmer and her family decided to share their story in hopes it will encourage organ donation, she told the publication.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk