Most kids want a big party for their birthday with lots of presents, but for one little boy called Theo, all he was interested in was meeting some dogs. As his seventh birthday approached, his mom, Melody Joy Rensberger, decided that she would reach out to those in her local Facebook groups and ask if anybody who owned a dog could walk past their house on the day of Theo’s birthday.
Melody was expecting around 15 or so dogs to show- so when the day finally arrived, she was blown away by the number of dogs that actually turned up!
Theo, who has spina bifida, loves nothing more than saying hello to the local dogs in the neighborhood. One of his favorite things to do is throw them treats and ask them lots of questions, so Melody just knew that she had to set something up for the little dog-fanatic’s birthday.
After appealing on Facebook, Melody admits that she was only expecting a small number of dogs to show – so when around 100 dogs showed up for Theo’s birthday, she shared a post of gratitude onto Facebook to say thanks to everyone who visited.
Melody shared pictures of lots of the dogs and their owners who attended Theo’s birthday bash, and the post soon attracted over 400 reactions and over 100 shares. Many people from around the world also shared pictures of their own dogs in the comments section, wishing Theo a big happy birthday. Melody began by saying:
‘A few days ago I reached out on a neighborhood website and a FB Mom’s group to see if, during the afternoon on July 1st, people could walk their dogs past my house so Theo could throw their pups a treat and ask them some questions (one of his FAVORITE things to do), expecting about 15-20 dogs to stop by.’
‘By the end of the day on Wednesday, we had about 100 dog visitors who brought 150 humans. These dogs did tricks for Theo (double high fives! Rolling over! Jumping for treats! Nose boops!) and brought him presents. Theo got to ask each dog questions “what is its name, how old is he, where did you get him, how do you call him, did you save him?” and got to tell everyone how excited he would be when we got to move into a “pet policy house” (as opposed to the “no pet policy house” we currently live in).’
Melody explained how people had really gone the extra mile to make sure that Theo had a special day. She was ‘blown away’ by all of the kindness that strangers had shown.
‘People drove from 45 minutes away. They borrowed their neighbor’s dogs, met up with friends with dogs. People changed their work schedule so they could stop by. Delayed their kid’s naps. Those who didn’t have dogs brought a stuffed animal Pound Puppy for Theo to “adopt” and others brought pup treats. People dressed up their dogs in party hats. People made birthday signs for Theo. Kids drew pictures. Strangers brought Theo PRESENTS. I was blown away.’
Theo was also thrilled to meet a chihuahua who wasn’t too different from him! Melody said:
‘As some of you know, Theo has spina bifida, so it was extra special to meet a little chihuahua that has spina bifida too. Theo was quick to ask if the pup uses a walker or wheelchair like him, but thought that it was pretty cool that Pinky’s owner made a special purse to carry Pinky in.’
It really is touching to see how many strangers went above and beyond to make sure that Theo had a birthday that he’d never forget. We wonder how his mom could possibly top this next year?
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