A puppy for Casey
<p>Casey Brown, a volunteer at Paws and Claws in Coeur d'Alene, reacts after receiving a puppy Friday as friends and family gather for the surprise.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Casey Brown got his dog.
No more having to borrow Brinkley as his best-bud companion.
Well, there'll be more of that, but today the Lake City High School junior has his own pup, and it goes by the name of George, George Brown.
"He's cute," Casey said, after receiving it Friday afternoon as a surprise gift at the Paws and Claws Pet Resort. And after he met his new companion, Casey's friends and family said it won't even be funny, how spoiled the dog will be.
"It's going to be funny," Casey said.
Casey was born with Albinism and slight autistic behavior, and overcomes his shyness and the stress from school by volunteering at the Paws and Claws. It's not work to him. It helps him, caring for the dogs there, soothing even. And it's where he met his best bud, a black lab named Brinkley.
So Brinkley's owners, John and Betsy Anderson, along with Paws and Claws owner Tudy Gilbert decided to get Casey his own dog.
Because Brinkley, a black lab himself, only visited the shop when the Andersons traveled - about 15 times in the two years Casey volunteered at the shop.
So they surprised Casey on Friday.
At first, out came Brinkley, black coat, and with a red handkerchief around its neck, followed by a tinier version, black coat red handkerchief.
That's George, Tudy told Casey, and he's all yours.
"That's the first time I've seen him like that," said Tudy after the meeting, meaning speechless, because Casey likes to tell stories.
What floored Lori Brown, Casey's mother, is the work the Andersons put into it. The first dog they found fell through, so they ended up trekking over to Springdale, Wash., for little George.
"Over the top kindness," she called it.
"That won't be an indoor dog," she said. "It'll be his best friend."
That's true. There's no chance Casey won't spoil the dog, along with Brinkley still, every once in a while.
It wasn't tough to surrender the puppy, even as the Andersons grew attached to it for a week after buying it.
"This is one case where you know you're going to bring so much happiness," Betsy said.