DERRY, N.H. (WHDH) - A convoy of K9 cruisers helped to usher in a cross country Christmas surprise Friday.
Officer Molly Groce, a K9 officer from Indianapolis, began raising money on GoFundMe to buy a special van for 8-year-old Aiden Moore from Derry, New Hampshire who has muscular dystrophy.
“It was initially just going to be some presents, I asked for his Christmas list, we were going to get him some board games, and then just thought, let’s make this big! Let’s get a van for the family that they really need.”
Unfortunately, Aiden has a lot of doctor appointments to attend and Groce said she wanted to do something to make sure he and his family could get to them in comfort.
The two met and connected through Groce’s Instagram account where she posts lots of photos and videos of her K9 and personal pup, Trooper.
“She’s just very silly and goofy and then trooper was in the videos.” Aiden’s mom Jillian Moore-Mackenzie. “It really made him feel better, he was laughing and giggling.”
Aiden and his mom started following other K9s who also turned out Friday — coming from all over New England to be a part of this special surprise.
For Aiden. meeting his heroes is the best gift money can’t buy.
For his mom, the gifted van means she can focus on taking care of her child as his disease continues to progress.
“The financial burden of this van, there’s no way I could describe it,” Moore-Mackenzie said. “I mean, sorry, it’s just overwhelming. I feel like I know Aiden is so special and now I really know how special he is.”
The van is fully paid for but, the GoFundMe will be active for the next few weeks to try and cover all the taxes and other fundraising expenses.
Anything above that will go to help with the cost of Aiden’s care in the future.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)