Rescue Dog And Teen With Tourette’s Go Viral For Uplifting Story Of Self-Acceptance.

When the Koch family of Delray Beach, Florida, decided to adopt a rescue dog, they had no idea what an incredible impact the animal would have on their son’s life.

Shane Koch is 16 years old and has been struggling with Tourette’s syndrome since he was diagnosed at age 8.

He tried all the treatments available to control his repetitive sounds and physical tics, but nothing worked. As a result, he felt like an outsider in most areas of his life. “I got made fun of by teachers and students, sometimes I would get in trouble for them,” he explained.

Everything changed about a year ago when his family adopted Callum, a Rhodesian ridgeback mix. While Callum isn’t a trained therapy dog, he helps Shane manage his symptoms and can even stop the tics before they start.

“He notices when I do the tics, he’ll nudge me,” Shane said. “He can literally sense when I do those tics and as I feel it coming, and a lot of that stress will go away.”

Once Callum joined their family, Shane’s symptoms became much more manageable. So the teen decided to start a TikTok to raise awareness about Tourette’s syndrome and share how Callum has helped him.

Since he started his “Callum the Ridgy” account, more than 1.4 million people have followed him for his positive messages about what it means to fit in – or not.

“I created the page to show awareness, to show that you are not different nor normal, and it’s better to be weird than normal,” he said.

These days, each of Shane and Callum’s videos are viewed thousands of times. They’ve become bona fide influencers and have helped countless people who feel “different” find acceptance.

Not only are their videos adorable, but they’re also spreading an important message about not judging others for things they can’t control. Not to mention, they’re a great reminder that your life-changing canine BFF could be waiting for you at a local animal shelter right this minute!

Share this story to spread Callum and Shane’s love far and wide.

Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.