Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Five-year-old Mark Fontana is seen playing fetch with his missing service dog Echo after the pooch vanished for nine days in Rye, New York.
A 5-year-old autistic boy's service dog missing for the last nine days has been returned after bolting from his New York home and dangerously leaving the child unable to communicate and prone to wander.
Mark Fontana, who relies on his black lab Echo as a 24-hour guardian, was pictured already playing fetch with his trusty pooch after his relieving return in Rye Friday afternoon.
"It's a beautiful day and we are so thankful!" Guiding Eyes for the Blind, who had gifted the dog to the family, wrote with a photo of the adorable pair on their Facebook page.
Mark, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of 3, is unable to communicate and prone to running away says his mother.
When Echo got out of their home on the evening of Nov. 6 without her service vest on, Mark lost his protector that had monitored his every move, in some cases with the help of a tether between him and Echo's vest.
A woman who returned the dog around 1:15 p.m. Friday told the family that she found Echo wandering around the neighborhood. After seeing reports of the dog's disappearance, she brought the pup back, according to NBC New York.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
The dog wasn't wearing its service vest, pictured, when it took off on Nov. 6. A woman told the family that she found the dog and took it home. After seeing local news reports on the dog, she returned it Friday.
Emily Fontana, who previously described Echo as "the Rolls-Royce of dogs" to the Daily News, had anxiously waited a year to welcome the dog into their home after their son's diagnosis.
Without Echo, she described Mark as completely lost.
"Mark doesn't speak. He doesn't communicate that way. Sometimes he just ends up running - to the street, to water," she told The News. "But he can communicate, and he just needs the keys to unlock it. Echo was one of those important keys."
Guiding Eyes for the Blind paid $45,000 to train the dog, which is the same age as Mark.
Such a gift would have been otherwise out of the family's affordability, despite the dog playing a monumental — if not potentially lifesaving — role in Mark's life.
ngolgowski@nydailynews.com
via www.nydailynews.com/news/national/autistic-boy-missing-service-dog-returned-article-1.1518551
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