Geneva Boy Finds Out Who His Service Dog Will Be

Chewbacca, a.k.a. Chewie, is set to be the service dog for Giovanni Rivera, 4, a Geneva boy who suffers from severe autism. (Photo: Submitted by Myrna Rivera)

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Giovanni Rivera, a Geneva 4-year-old with severe autism, and his family got a peek late last week of the service dog who hopefully will soon be helping the boy.

READ: Service Dog Sought for Geneva Boy, 4, With Severe Autism

The dog’s name is Chewbacca, a.k.a. Chewie, and he comes from a Star Wars litter, Myrna Resendez, Giovanni’s mom, wrote in an email to Patch. Other dogs in the litter are named Obi-Wan, Amidala and Han Solo, she added.

Although Chewie has been paid for, the RIveras still need to raise $3,000 by Oct. 26 in order to travel to 4 Paws for Ability in Ohio, a non-profit organization that provides service dogs to children with disabilities, for a two-week training and certification course, according to a press release from Variety the Children’s Charity of Illinois.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money and has collected $780 as of Monday night.

Visit the GoFundMe page to donate to this cause.