Paralyzed man breaks down when a Secret Santa gives him and his dog, Buddy, a special surprise
Published at
The EastIdahoNews.com team is busy helping a local man gift $500,000 this holiday season! Secret Santa is a real person who wants to remain anonymous and wants to help as many people as he can.
We will be surprising deserving people and families every day from now until Christmas with gifts unique to their circumstances.
Dale Gneiting is a long-time welder who broke his back and became paralyzed from the waist down on Feb. 3, 1994 in a workplace accident. Over the years, having to learn to live with his paraplegia as a single man has brought many trials and tribulations.
In 2006, his daughter decided he needed a companion and brought him his greatest gift – a dog named Sprout. Sprout and Dale became fast friends and were inseparable from that day forward. Sadly, Sprout passed away at the beginning of last year leaving Dale lonely and heartbroken.
In Dec. 2018, Dale decided to adopt another companion dog named Buddy. Buddy is a little more high strung than Sprout and has a difficult time staying inside for long periods of time. Dale is very independent and does all he can with him but would love for Buddy to have his own freedom – especially in the winter when it is difficult for Dale to get around outside.
A fence around Dale’s property would be very helpful and allow Buddy the freedom to run around without getting into trouble. Dale also needs an automatic reclining bed that will assist him in getting in and out as it’s becoming more difficult with him getting older.
Secret Santa wanted to give Dale and Buddy an early Christmas gift. He asked the East Idaho News elves to pay him and the response was heartwarming. Watch the video above to see what happened!
