[VIDEO] Sister Planned a Surprise “Pug Party” With 80 Dogs For a Bullied Boy With Autism
At 14 years old, Andrew Vaughn has never had a birthday party before. Not because of financial reasons or cultural beliefs but because this boy with autism always worried that no friends would show up to celebrate his big day. This year, instead of letting fear of disappointment prevent him from having the birthday fun that he deserved, Andrew’s older sister came up with a heart-melting idea: a pug party.
McKenna explained that as a child, her brother made up imaginary friends to cope with being bullied and all of these special companions happened to be pugs. From there, his love of these adorable pups grew as he started collecting pug-themed gear and McKenna realized that a pug party was the perfect way to celebrate her brother’s birthday.
But this older sister didn’t just stop at making the party’s theme all about dogs, she enlisted 80 pugs and their owners to show up, ensuring that Andrew had the best party guests ever! McKenna shared her plan on Facebook writing, “As most of you know my brother, Andrew, is autistic. He is the most kind, loving, gentle, and compassionate kid I know! He is such a blessing to me and everyone who knows him. . . . I wanted to ask my friends and family if they have or know of anyone who has a pug to come to the get together I’m having. I would like to surprise him with as many pugs as possible.”
But things almost didn’t go according to plan. When McKenna first posted the party on Facebook, nobody RSVP’d but Pug Nation Rescue of Los Angeles caught wind of the plan and shared the information on their Facebook page. Within hours, 50 pug owners reached out to McKenna confirming that they would be attending with their pets.
“I was in such shock,” McKenna told The Dodo. “I was at work sitting at my desk and tears were just flowing down my face because I was amazed by the amount of compassion these pug owners shared. People from all over the world were asking me for my mailing information to mail him gifts and birthday cards as well as his email to send him a happy birthday message. It was so heartwarming.”
When Andrew arrived at a local park on the day of his party, he was surprised not only with a celebration in his honor but also some pretty spectacular guests. “This whole experience was so amazing! The look on my brother’s face when over 80 pugs showed up to his surprise birthday party brought me so much joy,” McKenna wrote on Instagram. “It was pouring rain in the beginning and there were still people out there and pugs in strollers with umbrellas. I bawled when the first two showed up just at the fact that people cared. Then they kept coming and it was just beautiful.”
Andrew was equally blown away by turnout and couldn’t believe all of the dogs that were there just for him. “He was in shock,” McKenna said. “He kept asking ‘Is that a pug?!’ to each dog because he just couldn’t believe his eyes. As if he didn’t believe it was real life. I was so emotional. Everyone there was crying.”
This story originally appeared on PopSugar.
