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Service Dog Hops Into Hospital Bed With Boy With Autism

Photos of a nine-year old boy from New Zealand and his service dog are going viral online and tugging at the heartstrings of viewers around the world, TODAY reports.

James Isaac was at the hospital for an MRI after he began to have a number of unexplained seizures. Isaac has profound autism, according to his mother, and he had to be anesthetized for the scan. His therapy dog of two years, Mahe, was able to hop up onto the hospital bed to check on his friend before the MRI, and reunited with James in the recovery room after, as well.

"He got his face really close to James, who was asleep by that point, and he reached in to sniff him," James' mother, Michelle Isaac, told TODAY on Tuesday. "He looked really concerned. It was quite touching."

The presence of James's "buddy" has been a support for James outside of the hospital, too, calming his anxiety when they go outside, Michelle Isaac said. 

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