Remarkable bond between medically-fragile boy, rescued dog

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Life isn’t much fun for 9-year-old Johnny Scardasis.

“He has cerebral palsy,” said Johnny’s mother Katherine Scardasis. “The injury came from the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck at the last minute.”

Johnny can’t move from head to toe.

"He needs help breathing with oxygen and a ventilator,” his mother said.

Johnny can’t swallow or eat by mouth.

“He cannot attend school because he cannot sit up in a wheelchair,” Scardasis said.

Johnny’s mother says Johnny knows what’s going on around him he just can’t do anything about it.

“He has no siblings he has no friends,” she adds.

Before she was rescued by a group named Golden Beginnings, Lexi the Golden Retriever only knew the feel of cold concrete.

No one trained her to be a therapy dog.

Lexi was still a puppy when she arrived at Johnny’s house.

Scardasis says she was rambunctious like any puppy until she spotted Johnny and stepped on his bed.

“So gently and stepped over his tubing,” said Scardasis. “And went to his side and laid down right next to him and put her head on his shoulder this was all within 10 seconds.”

No one can explain the bond these two share but one thing is certain. They give each other a lot to smile about.