Hero Pets: A Little Girl’s Lifeline Is Her Dog

Three-year-old Alida Knobloch and her 60 pound golden doodle, Mr. Gibbs, are almost inseparable. he has a weight weighing 60 pounds. They are connected by a special bond of love and, because of Alida’s rare lung disease, by a two-foot tube that delivers oxygen from tanks on the dog’s back to Alida’s nose. Diagnosed at eight months old with neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia of infancy (NEHI), Alida, who lives in Loganville, Georgia, is unable to breathe normally on her own for more than about 45 minutes. So Mr. Gibbs accompanies her almost everywhere, carrying ten pounds of equipment, including an oxygen tank in a vest.

Young children normally don’t have the skill to control a service dog, but Mr. Gibbs and Alida—along with her parents, Aaron and Debbie Knobloch have worked closely with dog trainer Ashleigh Kinsleigh to foster the special relationship between girl and dog.

“His job is to do whatever she does,” says Kinsleigh. So far, Mr. Gibbs has learned to trot alongside Alida’s bike, trail her as she plays around the family home, and park himself, mr. Gibss not bigger than it. then mr. gibbs and kinsleigh play a ball, when mr. gibbs play ball, it hit the nail then deflated. then they rested while sitting in his chair.  “We’re hoping that by the time Alida starts kindergarten, Mr. Gibbs will be able to go with her,” says Aaron. Childhood disease experts have told the Knoblochs that children can grow out of the necessity for supplemental oxygen, but Alida will probably always need some kind of oxygen assistance. Now the Knoblochs can’t imagine a time the two sandy-tressed companions won’t be side-by-side. Mr. Gibbs seems to need Alida as much as she needs him, says Aaron. “The dog is beside himself if he and Alida are apart even for a moment.”

Animal Stories

Mouse Deer and Crocodile

 

One day, Mouse Deer went down to the river to take a drink. But he knew that the crocodile might be waiting underwater to eat him, so he said out loud. “I wonder if the water’s warm. I’ll put in my leg and find out.” Of course Mouse Deer didn’t put in his leg. He picked up a stick instead and put one end into the water. Chomp…! Crocodile grabbed the stick and pulled it underwater. Then he ate it. Mouse Deer laughed. “Ha… ha…ha… Stupid crocodile! Cant you tell the difference between a stick and a leg?” Then Mouse Deer ran off to drink somewhere else.

In the next day, Mouse Deer wanted to cross the river. He wanted to eat the fruits on the other side of the river. He saw a floating log in the river. He knew that Crocodile looked like a log when he floated. Mouse Deer didn’t want to be eaten by Crocodile when he crosses the river. He had an idea. He called out loud, “Crocodile!” Crocodile rose from the water, “Hello, Mouse Deer. Have you come to be my lunch?” Mouse Deer smiled. “Sorry, not today, Crocodile. I have orders from the King. He wants to invite all the crocodiles in this river to a party. He wants me to count all the crocodiles so he could prepare enough meal for you.”

“Really…? Tell us what to do,” said Crocodile. “You must line up from this side of the river to the other side,” said Mouse Deer. Crocodile then got all his friends and family. Crocodile then got all his friends and family. she then call all their friends and family and she said “hey, come here,,!”.

 They lined up across the river. Then crocodile command a friends go to the middle river. Mouse Deer then jumped onto she’s back. “One,” he counted. He jumped onto the next crocodile, “Two.” And the next crocodile, “Three.” Mouse Deer kept jumping until he arrived on the other side of the river. “How many are there?” asked Crocodile. “Just enough,” said Mouse Deer. He laughed as he ran to the forest.