Boone, a special needs therapy dog from Butler Township and the mascot of the nonprofit Joey’s PAW, visited with his owners, Tayna and Charlie Diable.
Boone, a special needs therapy dog from Butler Township and the mascot of the nonprofit Joey’s P.A.W., visited the New Castle Public Library with his owners, Tayna and Charlie Diable.
The couple, the founders and heads of the nonprofit, visited the library to have Boone meet with the children, and have Tayna read the children’s book she wrote about Boone’s life, “Bow Tie Boone.”
“This is his jam. He loves kids,” Charlie Diable said.
Boone was adopted by the couple when he was five months old. He came from an abusive home in Texas where his back legs were intentionally cut off.
Now, at age six, Boone has overcome his hardship and moves around thanks to a specialized wheelchair made possible by the nonprofit, which provides wheelchairs and prosthetics to dogs.
“We’re trying to let him be a dog,” Charlie Diable said.
Boone has since become a therapy dog, visiting schools, businesses, organizations and airports.
Every Friday, after 9 a.m., Boone visits the Pittsburgh International Airport as part of the “PIT PAWS” program, to help anybody with stress and/or anxiety about flying.
Boone was a hit with the children and was wearing one of his signature bow ties.
Whenever the couple were driving to pick up Boone in 2017, they knew two things.
One was they were not going to simply foster him, but they were going to adopt him.
The second was his name would be Boone, which means miracle, instead of his given name at the time, “Big Daddy.”
“A miracle named miracle. We’re never going to give him up,” Charlie Diable said.
Whenever the couple picked him up, there was another dog named Boone present, which they took as a sign the name would stick.
While Boone is often mistaken and marketed as a Beagle, he is a hound mix, with a mixture of Redbone Coonhound, Bassett Hound and a terrier.
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