8-year-old boy learns to love his skin after discovering a dog with the same condition

The last thing children want is to feel different. We’ve all been there and sometimes it only takes an item of clothing or hairstyle to be teased by another child.

For 8-year-old Carter Blanchard from Arkansas, life got tougher when he developed a condition call vitiligo, causing white patches to appear on his skin.

Carter was only in kindergarten when he developed the long-term condition and it was a big adjustment for him.

Then everything changed when he met a furry friend called Rowdy.

Carter not only had to deal with the drastic change in his appearance but the responses from his classmates.

“The first thing he’d tell me when he got in the car is that he hated his face and hated the way he looked,” Carter’s mom Stephanie Adcock told ABC News.

This sweet boy didn’t want to go to school, he hated being different.

Then everything changed when his mom found a picture of a white-eyed black Labrador retriever called Rowdy, a black Labrador Retriever.

When Rowdy started getting white spots all over his body, his owners assumed it was because of his age.

But the owner, Niki Umbenhower, were wrong. As the spots continued to grow on Rowdy, and the fur around his eyes turned white, she knew this wasn’t average canine aging.

Rowdy was diagnosed with the same condition as Carter in 2014.

Niki decided to set up a social media account to share her beautiful pooch with the world. She also wanted to help others coping with the condition.

And finally, Carter had found a friend he could relate to.

Carter’s mom, Stephanie, stayed in touch with Rowdy’s owner Niki and made sure Carter saw all the pictures she posted of her dog.

Carter’s attitude toward his condition completely changed thanks to Rowdy, even though he could only see pictures of the perfect pooch as he lived more than 2,000 miles away in Oregon.

Rowdy couldn’t talk to Carter and give him words of encouragement – but his personality and positive spirit was enough to boost the boy’s confidence levels.

Mom Stephanie explained;

“It couldn’t be any other person that made him feel better. It had to be Rowdy, it had to be a dog.”

After their inspirational story was shared on KATU in Oregon, a kindhearted anonymous viewer donated $5,000 so Carter could finally meet his four-legged friend.

Carter and Rowdy quickly became best friends and now have an unbreakable bond, despite being thousands of miles apart.

The dog’s gentle comfort gave him the courage to face his condition