An Andover family has celebrated the birthday of their son’s assistance dog, who they credit with helping him to speak.

Leon Kirby-Bulner, who has the Jungle Book-inspired nicknamed ‘Mancub’, is autistic, with his mother Hayley saying on her Facebook Page that he had been “locked in his own little world until he met [assistance dog] Fern”.

“His eyes lit up and the pair became best of friends,” she said. “Mancub started interacting not with humans but with Fern, he had a sparkle in his eye we hadn’t seen before.”

The family came together on January 3 to celebrate Fern’s birthday, with a cake of duck, apple and cranberry for the birthday girl, topped with carrots, which was said to be “a hit” with the helpful cocker spaniel.

The pair have now been separated for the time being, with Fern heading off to ‘doggy school’ for more training, while Mancub is due for a trip to hospital for neurological surgery.

The family first got Fern as a puppy in 2017, and he soon became a firm favourite of Mancub. After searching online, Hayley found dog trainer Lila, who “put a lot of hard work into making Fern the dog she is today.”

She says that the change in Mancub’s communication has been dramatic.

“Mancub has progressed so much,” she said. “He has gone from [being] non-verbal to non-stop chatting. He gives eye contact, he interacts and he loves his Fern to bits.

“The help Fern gives us every day is just amazing. From meltdowns and deep pressure, to stair guarding and stopping Mancub from headbutting, she has numerous routines and tasks that make our family life so much easier and she loves helping out. We couldn’t imagine not having her help now!”

The pair have been through a lot together, including an incident last year in which they were refused entry to the Texaco petrol station in Weyhill.

As reported at the time, Mancub, Fern and dad Karsten were excluded from the store by a manager, who refused access on the basis of “Londis law” and said that he “didn’t care” about a potential fine.

Regarding the incident, Karsten told the Advertiser that it was “disability discrimination” and “disgusting” behaviour.

Since then, the pair have gone to have many more adventures together, with Hayley saying that their recent separation hadn’t “gone down very well” at first.

However, she explained the reasons to Mancub on a long walk, where he said that he could go to be trained alongside Fern. Hayley says that he was “brave enough to say goodbye” to his beloved dog after she left.

“It will be tough without Fern’s help,” she said, “but it always makes us appreciate her even more when she gets home.”