GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- A 9-year-old girl in Wisconsin who has been diagnosed with brain cancer will soon receive a gift from this side of Lake Michigan.
The folks over at Puppy Breath Animal Rescue in Grand Haven are bottle feeding a 2-week-old puppy to good health, before giving the pup as a gift to help the girl deal with the stresses of her treatment.
The little girl lives in Racine, Wis., and her new furry companion is getting ready to take the trip to meet her new lifetime companion.
In March 2013, 9-year-old Reyna was diagnosed with cancer.
A volunteer with Puppy Breath Animal Rescue knew of little Reyna's struggle, so when a litter of puppies showed up a couple weeks ago, they named one of the most frail pups after Reyna.
"We let Reyna pick one out, and she actually picked Reyna out. So, this is Reyna's puppy. She'll be going to Reyna free of charge," said Abbie Deverney.
Abbie Deverney with the animal rescue hopes the gift of the puppy will provide a sense of companionship and love.
"Our hopes are that she will comfort her and she will bring a lot of happy and life to Reyna that she can actually cuddle with her and just have a best friend with her at all times," said Deverney.
Reyna's mom Trudy said that she's extremely grateful that her friends from across the lake are keeping her little girl in their thoughts and prayers, and are offering to provide her with a new best friend.
Deverney said that hospital trips can become extensive with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, so she hopes little Reyna helps motive big Reyna to push forward.
"I can't wait to get them together. I honestly... I just can't wait," said Deverney.
Since Reyna the puppy is only a couple weeks old, she'll still spend the next month here in Michigan. We are told the family is planning on surprising Reyna with her new puppy during a birthday celebration in October.
