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Many dog owners share a special bond with their pet, but for one boy, an adopted dog has also made it easier to connect with other people.

According to today.com, Joey Granados, 14, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age seven, struggled with a “loathing of physical contact” that worried his mother, Amanda, for years. But when Joey met a shelter dog named Roxy, he was so happy that he kissed his mom on the cheek for the first time.

Joey was first introduced to Roxy, a gray pit bull, at a shelter dog adoption event at Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles. Amanda’s concerns about pit bulls disappeared when she saw how happy the two were together.“As soon as Roxy met Joey, she totally ignored me and his mother,” pet adoptions specialist Denise Landaverde told Today. “Amanda was happily surprised to see Roxy go straight to Joey and watch them play together. It just sealed the deal for her.”

According to Austim Speaks, Asperger syndrome is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. In Joey’s case, he is able to learn normally and can even recite books from memory after reading them just once, but he has trouble with social situations.

Since adopting Roxy, Joey has been able to make friends more easily and has become more open to physical contact; he can now hug and kiss his mother and get along with his two brothers.

“She’s opened up my heart,” Joey said.

Roxy the shelter dog changed Joey’s life.

Roxy the shelter dog changed Joey’s life. Courtesy Best Friends Animal Society, Los Angeles

Although research on the topic is somewhat limited, recent studies have suggested that dogs are capable of helping children with autism, just like Roxy has helped Joey. In a 2014 study of families with autistic children, 94 percent said that their children had bonded with their dog, giving them companionship and teaching them how to be responsible.

While dogs can be beneficial for many children with autism, they are not ideal for everyone and will not affect all autistic children in the same way. Dr. Rolanda Maxim, the director of developmental pediatrics at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, warns that this strategy will not work with aggressive children or those who are afraid of or allergic to dogs.

However, since opening a dog therapy clinic in St. Louis for children with autism, Maxim has seen the effects that a bond between a child and a dog can have. She says that the children must be able to meet and choose their dogs themselves, as Joey did with Roxy.

After seeing how much happier and outgoing Joey is with Roxy by his side, Amanda Granados is sure she made the right decision in getting a shelter dog for her son.

“Kids with autism are looked at differently and misunderstood, and so are pit bulls,” she said. “I think that’s why they’ve bonded!”