When Tyler Ford's family appealed for people to send him pictures of their dogs in order to make him some picture books for his birthday, they thought a few people from the neighbourhood would respond.
But the request went viral and now the family have been overwhelmed by thousands of letters, pictures and even gifts they are getting on a daily basis from people all over America.
Tyler, who will turn 22 on 10 April, was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder which causes him overstimulation and frustration that he is unable to verbalise. He lives in constant pain due to hip dysplasia and feeding difficulties.
In the initial Facebook post, Tyler's aunt Christy Ford wrote: "Most know this is my extra awesome nephew, Tyler. Many know his obsession with dogs and when I say he is obsessed, I mean he is REALLY OBSESSED!!!
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"I am gonna work on a putting a new book together for him for his 22nd birthday coming up in April. I need pictures of your dogs, preferably 3x5 or 4x6 but I will accept any size!!
"If you could write your baby's name on the back with what breed they are it would be great... you can include your name as well."
She added: "Despite Ty's disabilities he has a better memory than almost anyone I know! He will remember your dogs' names in years to come.
"If I can get this put together for him it would be one of the most meaningful gifts he could possibly receive and EVERYONE can play a part in it... you don't have to know us to participate!
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"Share with your family, friends & coworkers... I will include EVERY single picture that I receive whether a hundred or a thousand, there is no such thing as too many in this case!!!
"I prefer mail over printing at home bc of the expense and time that it would take me to get everything printed and labeled.
"I just got a PO Box for this so it can start immediately! If you know me and wanna put your envelope in my mailbox at the house that's fine too.
"With what I am hoping will be a HUGE project, I will post updates to let everyone know how our book is coming along. Let's help this boy have a wonderful birthday!!!!
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"Mail to: Tyler c/o Christy Ford PO Box 1036, Trinity, NC 27370 USA."
And mail they did.
Speaking to LADbible, Christy said: "I thought I would just throw up a post for my friends on Facebook asking for them to send me some pictures. Almost everyone in our community knows Tyler and that dogs are his greatest love.
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"I woke up the next morning and the post had over 10K shares and had gone worldwide and I had hundreds and hundreds of messages in my messenger!
"The response has been unbelievable, Tyler doesn't have the ability to fully understand what is going on, but he knows he was on the news and that people are sending him and his dogs special prizes.
"He hasn't seen the thousands of pictures that have been mailed yet. I still have to figure out what I'm going to do as for books. I will have to order a tonne of binders and plastic inserts so I need to find my best option financially.
"Scott and Shanda [Tyler's parents] are a little overwhelmed but extremely thankful for all these people reaching out to help make their boy happy. We are all in shock that so many people across the world are this willing to be a part of this huge gift to Ty."
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Just to reiterate, you can mail any pictures to: Tyler c/o Christy Ford PO Box 1036, Trinity, NC 27370 USA.
We hope this LAD has the best birthday.
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Tyler’s PAW StringsTopics: Daily Ladness, Community