chILD News

Georgia child breathes easier thanks to ‘four-legged lifeline’

Alida Knobloch is a very little girl with a very big burden. The 3-year-old from Loganville, Ga., suffers from Neuroendocrine cell Hyperplasia of Infancy (NEHI), a lung disease requiring Alida to breathe with the aid of an oxygen tank.

It’s tough for a small child, or her parents, to always be lugging an oxygen tank behind in order to stay mobile. That’s where Mr. Gibbs comes in.

Mr. Gibbs is a “goldendoodle” service dog; a golden retriever-poodle mix whose job is to walk alongside Alida and carry her oxygen tanks in a specially designed vest. The dog will follow Alida wherever she goes; even down a playground slide.

“We want her to have the most normal childhood she possibly can,” said Aaron Knobloch, Alida’s father. “How (else) are we going to provide her with some kind of normal sense of independence?” NEHI is one of more than two dozen rare diseases affecting a child’s ability to breathe that are being addressed by the Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease Foundation.

Since Alida and Mr. Gibbs made their debut in a local newspaper, they have attracted a lot of attention in the media. They have been featured on Fox News and the Today Show, and have filmed a segment on Inside Edition that will be shown soon. Follow the links below to see the various articles on this amazing family!

The Walton Tribune was the first to publish the story about Alida and Mr Gibbs on February 29, 2012. Link to Walton Tribune Article

The Fox News Video

On March 21, 2012, Alida, Mr Gibbs, and her family were featured on the Today Show and had an interview with Matt Lauer. Click here to view the Today Show Footage

Keep checking back for more stories on the Knobloch Family!