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Cole Hein in his room with his service dog Bingo at their Shilo, Manitoba home on Friday. Cole, 11, and his service dog Bingo received over 100 packages of dog treats and toys from as far as Japan and Australia. Earlier this summer Cole made a "lick-it list" for his 14-year-old dog, including treats after Bingo was diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. Bingo wasn't expected to live past the end of summer.
CFB SHILO — Bingo’s bark helped save the life of the young child who depended on him numerous times when he was younger.
Now Bingo’s bark is being heard around the world.
That’s because an idea that 11-year-old Cole Hein came up with to set up a canine version of a bucket list — called a Lick It List — has gone viral and been spotlighted by numerous media outlets, websites and empathetic people around the world after a recent newspaper report.
"I don’t know why (this has happened)," an ecstatic Cole said while sitting with his twin brother, Eric, surrounded by a huge pile of packages and envelopes from around the world. "It’s probably because this dog saved a life and she is in the Purina Hall of Fame. If that’s not it, I don’t know."
"It has just been amazing," Cole’s astonished mother Mandi said.
"I never would have thought it would have exploded like this. But it’s about a boy, a dog and a wish.
"I guess I should have known."
Bingo first romped into Cole’s life in 2005, when the boy was two. Cole has an apnea-like disorder which causes him to suddenly stop breathing, day or night, awake or sleeping and needs someone to perform artificial respiration to revive him. He had to be monitored by a caregiver or monitoring instruments 24 hours a day. The condition still affects Cole, but he has learned how to work his way out of it on his own.
National Service Dogs, which normally trains larger dogs to help children with autism, heard about the family’s plight and its co-founder trained her own Jack Russell terrier to recognize the child’s distinctive gagging noise when he stopped breathing and then bark to alert his parents or caregivers.
The family has "lost track" of how many times Bingo’s bark has saved Cole’s life — three times just during the animal’s probation period.
But earlier this summer, the family received the devastating news that the now 14-year-old Bingo had been diagnosed with canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome and had only weeks to live. The illness is similar to the human version of dementia, and while Bingo is on medication for the syndrome, Mandi said the dog has "good days and not so good days."
Cole’s mom overheard the child telling Bingo the things Cole wanted to do for her before the animal died, calling it a Lick It List, and she posted her son’s wishes on a Facebook page.
Among the items, Cole wanted to take Bingo on a last public outing to his favourite place, the Ruckers amusement outlet in Brandon, do a photo shoot of the pair, walk her around the block twice and — the one that has caught on — receive doggie treats from around the world.
Nothing really happened for the first two months, but a newspaper report about it, that’s when things happened.
The Facebook page went from having just a few relatives and friends on it, to more than 12,000 at last count.
The story has been linked to an unknown number of media outlets and websites including People Magazine, CNN, NBC, Pet Health Network, Animal Connection, the Cesar Millan Foundation and Pop Culture Fashionistas where it was named last week’s "most inspiring pop culture moment."
Last week, the tale of Bingo and Cole, and their photograph, was even broadcast on the "Today" show, with hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb not only talking about it, but admitting that the story was bringing them to tears.
By Thursday, the family had already received enough boxes and envelopes to fill two large bags.
But then on Friday, they received a call from the Canada Post outlet at CFB Shilo to come pick up their mail — and make sure they brought a truck.
The postal employees were right — the mail filled the back of an SUV. The mail was from across Canada and the United States, but also Japan, Australia and the Netherlands.
Speaking earlier of tears, some of the notes that are accompanying the boxes and envelopes could bring on the waterworks.
Many people talk about the passing of their own pets, sending the treats because, as they say, they know what it is like for the child.
» Winnipeg Free Press
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition August 27, 2012
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CFB SHILO — Bingo’s bark helped save the life of the young child who depended on him numerous times when he was younger.
Now Bingo’s bark is being heard around the world.
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CFB SHILO — Bingo’s bark helped save the life of the young child who depended on him numerous times when he was younger.
Now Bingo’s bark is being heard around the world.
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