Taylor Swift Meets Boy She Gave $10,000 to for Service Dog

Taylor Swift at the The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles, on Feb. 15, 2016. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

Pop star Taylor Swift met a fan she helped get a service dog for back in 2016, while backstage at her Houston concert on Sept. 29.

Swift, who is currently on her Reputation Stadium Tour, invited 8-year-old Jacob Hill to the Houston leg of the tour, and met both him and his adorable service dog Reid after the show. Teen Vogue reported that Swift donated $10,000 towards Jacob’s GoFundMe page, which played a huge part in him getting his dog.

Pictures of Swift, Jacob, the service dog, and two women emerged on the Facebook page for Autism Speaks.

“She got on her knees and looked Jacob right in the eyes and thanked HIM for coming to her concert even though she knew it was loud and there was so much going on. I was so thankful she tried to connect with him instead of talking over him to me. She saw the boy, not the disability. Nothing makes me happier than when people chat directly to Jacob,” Jacob’s mother, Allison Hill, wrote in a blog post about the encounter.

Donating for Service Dog

The GoFundMe page began in December 2015. The page shows a $10,000 donation from Taylor and Andrea Swift, among other smaller donations from various people. Andrea is Taylor Swift’s mother. According to Teen Vogue, the campaign caught Swift’s attention after Jacob’s sister and cousin did a tongue-in-cheek remake of Swift’s hit song “Blank Space” aimed at potential donors.

The Swift donation pushed the campaign beyond its $12,500 goal.

Allison Hill published a blog post in February 2016 talking about why Jacob needs the dog and thanking Swift for making it possible.

“Our family is completely astonished that Taylor Swift would do something like this for a complete stranger,” she wrote.

She also described Jacob’s tendency to dart out into the street or directly into danger, due to his autism, and how the dog is trained to keep him safe.

Images of Swift and Jacob shared to Facebook by Autism Speaks had over 9,000 reactions, 2.5 shares, and 390 comments at the time of writing.

Some of the comments posted under the images consisted of other stories and photos of other autistic people meeting Taylor Swift.

“My 22 year-old now high functioning Autistic Son flew out to Denver and was part of her crew setting up the unbelievable stage and light show at one of her earlier concerts. I didn’t think most people know he is Autistic unless they pay attention to how he responds or the methodical way he works. I had not been a huge fan of hers before. Yet, my mind has been changed by the way he told me she treated everyone well behind the scenes and now this moment of kindness that will leave a lasting impression in the children’s memories,” wrote Carrie Weeks Klukas.

Swift is set to open the 2018 American Music Awards with a song from her 2017 “Reputation” album. She will sing “I Did Something Bad” at the Oct. 9 event, MTV reported.

Swift is finishing up North American show dates on her Reputation tour. She is scheduled for Australian show dates after the awards show performance.

From NTD.tv