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Pet Labradoodle Makes Boy's Dreams Come True

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Three-year-old Cooper Meadows is getting his wish today.

The Make-A-Wish East Tennessee chapter is making it come true for him.

Cooper had dreams of one day having a dog of his own.

"He wanted a puppy," said Ed Lewis with Make-A-Wish. "He wanted a labradoodle and that's what we were able to get for him."

The puppy's named Oakley, but what really makes Cooper's wish unusual is the fact that he is getting Oakley here in Pittsburgh, not in his home town of Chattanooga, Tenn.

oakley
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

"The original plan was to fly him down , he was going to be healthy enough and we were going to have the whole celebration," Lewis said.

But cooper has had a series of medical ups and downs since arriving for a short bowel transplant – including the first time we met him, when his aunt Allison Meadows was caught in the middle of a stabbing incident at the East Liberty Target during a visit to Pittsburgh to see Cooper.

"Allison is doing relatively well, still working through some issues," said grandfather Glen Meadows, "but had a great summer and is back in school."

And getting stronger every day is exactly what Cooper is planning on – only now he has a little help.

"Think that it's going to be a new companion for Cooper," said Meadows' mother Chelsea. "He's not going to be surrounded by doctors and nurses all the time."

Cooper and Oakley will be at the Children's home for a few more weeks because Cooper has to have a medical procedure followed by another surgery.

But Oakley will be right by his side the entire time.

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