A viral Facebook effort to help an Arizona teen battling cancer has gotten a bit of help from some Wilton residents.
Anthony Lyons is a 16-year-old in Phoenix Children’s Hospital fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He’s been uplifted by dog visits thanks to a pet therapy program. But on days that the dogs don’t visit, his mom has distracted him from the rounds of chemotherapy with pictures of dogs online.
So a family friend set up a Facebook page, “Photo Doggies for Anthony” for people to post pictures of their four-legged friends. Online just over a week, the page has gone viral and international, attracting well over a half-million posts from as far away as Australia and Afghanistan, not to mention criss-crossing the U.S. with pooch pics from Maine to California.
By late Sunday and early Monday, several Wilton residents started to get in on the fun.
Christine Baer posted this shot of her two golden retrievers, Charlie and Ozzie.
“I noticed others posting pictures of their dogs, and when I realized what it was for, I knew right away which picture of my two pups could bring a smile to someone’s face. I always tell people that the best thing about having a dog is that they are instant therapy for anyone in need of a pick-me-up,” Baer said.
Tracy Scarfi actually caught the bug from someone a bit farther away than Wilton.
“I saw that a friend from Kentucky had liked Photo Doggies for Anthony. Loving dogs as much as I do, I just had to see what it was all about. When it is this easy to make a child smile I cannot understand why everyone wouldn’t participate,” Scarfi says.
To join your Wilton neighbors in making Anthony’s treatments better, join the “event” on the Facebook page to enable posting a picture.
“When I’m in the hospital bed all day my mom goes through all the pictures, she sees them all,” Anthony told Fox 10 KSAZ. “She’ll show me them all, doesn’t matter, but the special ones are the funniest ones.”
FOX 10 News | fox10phoenix.com
