Ethan Andrews sat with his hands on his chin staring at the ground. The sullen 15-year-old from Cabarrus County could not be cheered up. Around him athletes sang karaoke, danced to Top-40 music, played bingo, made crafts and participated in lots of other fun activities at the Midsummer Tournament Dance/Olympic Town. Andrews had been summoned to fill in for a teammate and participate in the equestrian competition at the 2008 Special Olympics North Carolina Midsummer Tournament in Raleigh.

Normally Ethan would be excited at this opportunity and full of energy but his heart was heavy. His grandfather was gravely ill in Missouri. Only the day before, he had left his grandfather, his mom and his three sisters and boarded a plane for the first time ever to get back to North Carolina in time for the Tournament. He could not help but miss them all and wonder how is grandfather was doing in the hospital. He did not feel like celebrating and having fun like all the other Special Olympics athletes.

“He was pretty upset and missing his family,” said his coach Cindy Hunter. “I wasn’t sure if he would even compete the next day. But when I saw Kristi and Wingo, I knew we had a shot at getting Ethan to smile.”

Coach Hunter was gathering the Cabarrus County delegation to head back to the dorms as the dance ended when she noticed Pet Partners Kristi and Wingo. She asked them to make a special trip to where Ethan was sitting. Kristi and Wingo were a part of the the Delta Society Pet Partners program, a new attraction at Olympic Town. Delta Society volunteers and their dogs are trained to comfort people and help them cope/heal through animal interaction. The Delta Society dogs were a big hit with the athletes at the dance.

“He lit up like a Christmas tree when Kristi and Wingo walked through the door,” said Hunter. “He also really impressed Kristi by immediately shouting out that Wingo was a ‘Chesapeake Bay Retriever!’

After spending some quality time with Wingo, Ethan’s sadness disappeared and he was able to enjoy the weekend. He won three gold medals and one silver medal in competition.

“I can’t tell you how proud of Ethan I was that weekend,” said Hunter. “He was so courageous to leave his family and then fly for the first time all because he was dedicated to his team mates.”

Ethan did have more challenges to overcome after the Tournament. Due to airline flight changes, it was decided he should not return to his family in Missouri but stay in North Carolina with his coach for the week. To keep his spirits up, each day his coach took him to area animal shelters or pet shops where he could use his artistic talent and draw pictures of dogs.

“The silver lining to this whole experience for Ethan is that now he is volunteering at the local Humane Shelter once a week to draw pictures of the dogs for the new owners to take with them upon adopting a dog,” said Hunter. “All this started because of Kristi and Wingo. We are so thankful they are supportive of Special Olympics athletes!”

Look for the Delta Society Pet Partners program at Olympic Town during all Special Olympics North Carolina state-level events.

For more information, contact Megan O'Donnell, vice president of communications for SONC, at 919-719-7662 ext. 106 or modonnell@sonc.net.