This Halloween is one a Tampa 4-year-old will never forget thanks to the generosity of a few caring neighbors.
Sonny Dieva had to sit out this Halloween after suffering an eye injury at school on Thursday. His parents took him to the emergency room for the night.
"It was heartbreaking for him, he was very upset," said Alexis Dieva.
Mom and Dad took to Facebook to ask a simple favor from neighbors: "Is there any chance that a few houses could be available tomorrow around 4-ish just so we can take our little guy around and give him some type of Halloween spirit? We live near West Shore and Wisconsin."
More than 80 people responded, many inviting Sonny to their home Friday night for a post-Halloween trick-or-treat experience.
"It just touched my heart that this poor kid didn’t get to get out and participate in Halloween," said Sherry Stewart.
Sonny's parents were blown away by the community support.
"That kind of stuff is what a community should be like and it’s something we never had," said Dieva.
That's because Alexis and Daniel are now retired from the military and have been on the move since Sonny was born.
The couple moved to Tampa three weeks ago and are now settling into civilian life.
"Since the transition from the Marine Corps, it hasn’t been a steady thing for him so Halloween, or any holiday in general, has been steady so that’s one thing we wanted to give him."
Sonny may have been a day late for Halloween but his new neighbors made sure he did not miss out.
"To finally realize, hey this is our forever home and seeing the look on his face and the community being so generous, it makes me feel happy," said Dieva.
