In 2015, Rock NYC rescue dogs jumped to rescue a dog named Riddick who was thrown out of a moving car. He was given time to recover and than was put up on adoption, and soon after, Brian Jr. and his wife found a picture of him on Facebook and fell in love with him. They adopted Riddick in August of that year, and he quickly became an important member of the family.
About a year after Riddick was adopted, a human boy was born to his parents. And when Dawson returned home, Riddick and the other pit bull in the family, Cambria, became obsessed with him.
Junior said to Dodo, “We would call them paw patrols. When the baby cries, the two run inside to check on the baby. Every time he woke up from a nap we would say “Baby Dawson woke up” and they ran to us. They sit with us every night and to this day when we read to him a bedtime story. Cambria is usually on my lap and Riddick is on the floor. Dawson kisses them goodnight and we put him on the bed.”
The feeling is reciprocal, as Dawson is just as obsessed with his canine brothers as they are with him, and the little boy likes to climb on them, cuddle and feed them whenever he gets the chance.
Earlier this year, Dawson caught the flu. It was the first time he was really sick. The poor boy had a fever and felt miserable, so it was clear that he didn’t want anything but Riddick.
Junior said: “He crawled on the ottoman with Riddick and just holding him. You could tell Riddick knew he wasn’t feeling well and laid with him. He [Dawson] rolled around a bit and about 30 minutes later he was passed out cold for over an hour, Riddick didn’t move.”
PHOTO: THE DODO / BRYAN JUNIOR
Riddick was the only person Dawson wanted to comfort when he was sick. And of course the dog is happy to help. No matter what Dawson needed, Riddick was there, and the parents were happy to see how kind and protective Riddick was to Dawson.
“Riddick is the calmest, coolest dog you could ask for,” says Junior. “He is just gentle, loving and tolerant of everything. Everyone loves Riddick. He’s just the puppy you’ve always wanted.”
How precious is that bond?