JP McManus kind gesture makes family's dreams come true
The grateful Navan father of a young boy with autism says his family’s dreams came true this Christmas when legendary horse race owner JP McManus donated €5000 to a fundraising campaign to train a companion dog for their son.
Declan Jordan (41) says “he couldn’t believe his eyes” when he opened an email from the JP McManus Foundation on December 22nd detailing the kind gesture that has enabled him and wife Louise to reach their €10,000 target that they had set through GoFundMe in order for Koby, an Irish Doodle to travel to Cork in January to undergo full training.
Life changed for little Conor Jordan (6) and his family when he was introduced to his now best friend Koby by My Canine Companion, a charity which provides highly trained and skilled service dogs to people with disabilities.
Koby came to the family who live in Tara Court in Navan as a puppy last November and Conor's Mum, Louise brings him to training classes in Navan and Drogheda.
The Jordan's had raised over €8000 from donations prior to JP's generous deed.
Declan also dad to Alan (11) says the family “couldn’t have wished for anything better for the new year.” He added:
“We are just thrilled and so grateful to JP for making this happen and allowing us to reach our target before the year is out.
"Words can't describe what this means to us.
“He is a gentleman and it has just made our year.”
In an unbelievable twist of fate, Conor had his picture taken with JP at the Galway Races when he was just a few months old and Declan says he could never have imagined what an important role he would play in his son’s journey all these years later. He added:
“Louise’s family have always gone to the Galway races since she was a child so they would be pretty well known in the racing world.
“It was the first time JP won the Galway Hurdle race and there was great excitement and Conor was wearing the Conor was wearing the JP McManus colours and J.P asked for a photo with him.
“You have to imagine JP was only born on the 17th of January and this was late July and Conor was only a few months old when he took him into his arms, it was a lovely moment.
“As we were doing the fundraiser, I was emailing and contacting everybody and I emailed him and said that any help would be greatly appreciated and last week I received an email from JP’s charity saying that they were delighted to help us by giving us €5,000.
“It was a special day in Galway for JP and that photo with Conor obviously struck a chord with him.”
“We have just been overwhelmed by people’s generosity with everyone donating. It’s also about raising awareness about My Canine Companion and how it doesn’t receive any funding from any government source and what the families of autistic children have to go through to fund the training.
“One of the main drivers behind this was Sinn Fein TD Johnny Guirke who raised the issue in the Dail recently.”
Mum Louise says Koby has been “a godsend” to Conor who was diagnosed with autism in November 2016 by professor Michael Fitzgerald privately in Blanchardstown.
“Conor and Koby are best friends, have they have a great bond, you won’t see one without the other, Conor really trusts him.
“Conor struggles with daily tasks and even to go walking is a challenge for him because he bolts off with warning or he could throw himself on the ground until he is ready to get up again, a common occurrence for a child with autism.
“It is a sensory overload for him.
“Koby keeps him calm when he is out. When Koby gets qualified, Conor will be attached to him so it will stop him bolting off,” said Declan.
“The first year that they give you the dog it is to get the dog used to the child and family life and to cement the bond.
“The real work starts when he goes into full training.
“Thankfully that can now start very soon.
"We are are so grateful to JP and to everyone who made this happen."