Teen heart transplant patient given puppy

CAMP PENDLETON, CA -- A teenager who has lived with severe health issues throughout his life has a new friend.

Chris Simpson has had health issues since birth. He had brain surgery early on and he is mentally disabled. On top of that, in just 16 years, he has undergone three heart transplants.

While visiting the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, Chris met and bonded with a service dog named Zoey. The only time Chris would get out of bed or communicate was when the dog came to visit.

After Chris had a heart transplant, which was a huge success, he and his family went to live at Camp Pendleton, but Chris and his family stayed in touch with Zoey's owners Cat and James Skoor. Recently, Zoey's owners drove from Seattle to San Diego to give Chris a special gift: his own puppy.

Chris' mom is overjoyed and says she hasn't seen her son this happy in a very long time.

Watch Chris' full story from local station KUSI in the video above.