Joe Kahlo
Meet 8-year-old Carter Blanchard, he is a very special boy who suffers from a skin condition called vitiligo.
He was having a lot of trouble with this and hated the way he looked until a very special friend with the same condition as his stepped into his life.
“His face was transforming very quickly,” said his mother, Arkansas-based Stephanie Adcock. “The first thing he’d tell me when he got in the car is that he hated his face and hated the way he looked.”
His mother was praying for a miracle to teach the young boy how to appreciate his truly unique looks. Her prayers were answered in the form of a black labrador named Rowdy.
Rowdy has the same skin condition as Carter which has actually made him internet famous with his ‘panda eyes’, so his mother set up a meeting.
“I read that Rowdy had vitiligo, and I was blown away… When I showed Carter, he was so excited to see a cute dog that was famous for his vitiligo.”
When Rowdy and Carter met, it was magical, his mother says that since then, Carter has been way more confident with his looks and has learned to embrace his uniqueness.
“Rowdy making children and adults embrace their diversity is beyond rewarding. I am in awe of what we have been able to accomplish with his condition,” says Rowdy’s owner Niki Umbenhower.
