Naugatuck Family Launches YouCaring Effort to Raise Funds to Help Child with Down Syndrome

NAUGATUCK, CT — Collin Northrup is a seven-year-old Naugatuck boy with Down Syndrome who loves to explore things. In many cases, that's OK, but because of his condition he can often find himself in challenging situations, which his parents hope to avoid.

So the family has set up a page on the crowdfunding website YouCaring to raise money to assist in paying for the purchase and training of a service dog for Collin to help keep him safe.

As of Oct. 5, $710 has been raised toward a goal of $20,000.

"Collin is an amazing 7 year old little boy with Down Syndrome but since he was about 4 years old he has been trying explore the world," Helen Northrup, Collin's mother, wrote. "All he sees is good and beauty but unfortunately for us he has no fear and curiosity that leads Collin astray. He wears a tracking device on him and it is a great tool but now that he is 7 years old he has great strength and is extremely swift in all of his actions. We need a service dog that will help him with his sensory and his speech while helping to keep him safe."

The Northrups tried a service dog for Collin a couple of years ago, they told the Citizen's News, but the dog had a medical condition and had to be put down. Their pediatrician, Dr. Jeffrey Berg, recommended they try again, hence the new campaign.

Click here to view the YouCaring page for Collin Northrup, and click here to read the full story on the Citizen's News.

Photo of Collin Northrup via YouCaring

Written by Alfred Branch (Patch Staff)

(Editor's Note: This story first ran previously but here it is again in case you missed it.)