Noah Baderman and his dog Skipper took center stage at a school assembly recently.  They are there to kick off a fundraiser campaign the school is throwing for him to get Skipper trained as a service dog.  Noah, now in 8^th grade, had a heart transplant when he was just four years old.  Having Skipper fully trained would be a great help to him.

Noah Baderman and his dog Skipper took center stage at a school assembly recently.  They are there to kick off a fundraiser campaign the school is throwing for him to get Skipper trained as a service dog.  Noah, now in 8^th grade, had a heart transplant when he was just four years old.  Having Skipper fully trained would be a great help to him.

“He’s very stressed, and very shy,” said Noah’s mom, Melinda Baderman.  “I think a lot of that has to do with that he’s different, he’s in 8th grade, and 8th grade is hard.”

She got Skipper as a companion for Noah.  Someone that can be there with him when it may feel at times that no one else wants to be.

“We were thinking he really needs something that comforts him, that helps him deal with his stress,” said Noah’s mom.  “He’s going into this big world, where he’s just this little guy, and we thought that having a service animal that you can take with you everywhere, just as a comfort, but that can help him do tasks that he can’t do,” she said.

That’s why Noah’s school Principal Lisa Austin is trying to help Noah and his family raise the money to get Skipper trained.  Principal Austin knew that training a dog for Noah would be very expensive, so she got together with other faculty members to start a fundraiser.

“We’re going to do what we call a penny war, by the grade level, so 6th 7th and 8th grade will be competing,” said Principal Austin.  “We are also selling Support Skippy slips.  Kids can write their names on those and we will string them throughout the hallway.”

So far, sales of the Skippy Slips and the Penny War have brought in $2,000 for the cause.  He and Skipper are one step closer to their goal.  If you want to help Noah get Skipper trained, you can click here for more information.  Also, feel free to click that link if you or someone that you know runs a training organization that’s willing to help train Skipper.