Xuxa - a force for healing

Animals are such forces for good and for healing. This story is a special one.

There is a homeless woman in Santa Monica who walks down the street talking loudly to herself at 6 AM.

At the sight of my flatcoated retriever, however, she immediately comes out of her delusional state and smiles. Then she happily accepts wet puppy kisses and proceeds to have a coherent conversation with me.

Then off she goes, and the conversation with herself resumes.

Here's Xuxa with two of her friends. She's the one giving kisses.

~AS

Categories (Inspiring Stories)

Bailey with Spleen Cancer

“…My beloved Beagle named “Bailey” was diagnosed with spleen cancer in November 2016. She was losing a lot of weight quickly so I took her to her normal veterinarian and he wanted to operate on her. At that time Bailey was over 16 years old. I agreed but after talking to several people, I had second thoughts so I cancelled the operation. When I called the vet it was mentioned to give her the herb “Yunnan Baiyao” and I could get it in the health food store. After trying many stores with no luck I reached out to my good friend Amy that makes essential oils and she recommend Dr. Mary Ellen of Sayre Veterinary Acupuncture... At that time Bailey was only given a few days to a couple of weeks to live. She was that bad.

Diablo - the Comeback Kid

Diablo, cancer
In 1994, my father was diagnosed with cancer. The disease was advanced so alternative treatments, we were told by professionals, weren’t a realistic alternative. The best and brightest minds in oncology decided aggressive radiation would give my dad his best chance.

Two months later he was dead.

My family grieved and while I urged my lonely mom to get a pet, she wasn't ready. Nor was she ready the next year. Or the next. Five years went by until she decided it was time.

We visited a breeder who had five toy fox terrier puppies, all so bouncy they spent more time in the air the on the ground. Of the five, one loomed large and in charge, at a whopping 1.5 pounds. He was more willful than the rest. He wasn't taking no for an answer. He was coming home with us by his choice; we had no say in the matter. And he would go almost two months in our care before being named because we desperately hoped he would outgrow the only name that felt appropriate. He didn’t. So the name stuck: Diablo.