Sick Devon gets a chihuahua to call his own

By Natalie Bridges
When children find themselves staring death in the face with only one wish, you might expect them to ask for a trip to Disneyland.
Not Devon Remi. All he wanted was a chihuahua.
The 11-year-old Bay boy could have asked for anything when he made his application to the Make-A-Wish Foundation while fighting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in September - but he chose a dog he has called Sable.
"I wanted her because she's small," said the Mount Maunganui boy, clutching his glassy-eyed little friend.
Devon was diagnosed with his life-threatening illness in September 2004. His mother Erin Larsen helped him make the application from his hospital bed.
She said he was overwhelmed when Sable finally turned up on the doorstep on Sunday in a soft sleeping basket and with toys twice her size.
"When she arrived, he had tears all down his face. It's totally marvellous, the foundation is wonderful."
One of Devon's favourite movies, Legally Blonde, features a chihuahua as the adored pet of actress Reese Witherspoon and Mrs Larsen thinks her son may have fallen in love with the minute breed after watching it.
At $1200, Mrs Larsen said she could not afford to buy a chihuahua herself.
Devon is now at home in remission but is undergoing intensive chemotherapy at home and at hospital once a month.
Mrs Larsen said the past year has been emotionally tough. She had to give up her work as a caregiver in a rest home to devote her attention to her ailing son.
"It's just been me and Devon really. I'm his security blanket. We've grown close spending all this time together. And he's got a 14-year-old sister, Katrina Remi, who is like another Mum to him too,"
she said.But the gift of Sable brought a welcome distraction and new focus for Devon and the family.
"The reason I agreed to Sable was because Devon had no control over anything in his life over the past 18 months. With the dog, he is in control of it."
Even Devon's specialist at Tauranga Hospital has had the pleasure of meeting the little dog, who he has agreed is always welcome at the hospital when Devon comes for treatment.
Sable will also be entered into ribbon shows once Devon learns the tricks of the dog show trade.
"I would like to do that," he said, holding Sable to his face and staring lovingly into her eyes.
A big fan of comics and drawing, Devon had initially made a wish to the Foundation to go to the Gold Coast of Australia. He wanted to visit places like Warner Brothers so he could see how his favourite cartoons are created.
But when he was told he would have to wait until he was clear of hospital for three months so he could get travel insurance, he decided that the chihuahua was more important.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting wishes to children from 3 to 18 who have a life-threatening illness since 1987. The four wish categories are I wish: to go, to be, to meet and to have.
Wish-granting co-ordinator at the Foundation Linda Boland said she was delighted to have made Devon so happy.
"It's about providing the children with their cherished wish. It's about providing memories of joy and laughter and to take the child out of a difficult and painful experience, if only for a short while.
"The wish is quite powerful - it distracts them and gives them something to think about other than their illness. It's to provide special memories of joy."