A simple act of kindness transforms life of a Texas dog

Some of the most powerful stories are about the extraordinary, of course, and some of the most extraordinary among us are, if we're honest, not humans but dogs. Our chief national correspondent, David Begno, has a story about what it really means to be a good dog. and a good neighbor meet Gia, a husky with a story to tell about how when one

life

ends, sometimes an even better one begins in Dallas, Texas. Gia's

life

was confined to that small backyard because her loyal owner Sandra was hospitalized. Next door neighbor Lisa Canak noticed. that the 9-year-old girl seemed alone so she offered to accompany her.

I walked in and then Gaia came up to me very slowly and then I said oh me and then I what's your name so I had to look at her tag and I saw it was GIA, one walk turned into three weeks of walks, I came down here and then a question Lisa wasn't expecting from Sandra's dear friend, Gilda Leevy, two weeks before Sandra died, she said: I don't know if you've thought about this, but you would. would you like to take her and what did you say, I'm sure I would love it, so when the time came, Lisa was called to Sandra's house, right next door, the 80 year old neighbor she barely knew was gone, she had just died, so I just cut it.

I put the leash on her and then I said well, goodbye, she walked with a guide from Sandra's house to hers and from that moment Gia's life changed good girl, good girl Lisa wanted to take Gia out more and she realized it on walks around the neighborhood that Gia was very quiet. around children, so she and Gia enrolled in and passed a pet therapy program. I can tell that when I put the vest on her, she is ready to go. Her first assignment was Children's Medical Center of Dallas. Beautiful here was an old dog who rarely left Sandra's house.

Now I am home, I find a home with Lisa and in the hearts of these little children the dogs are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Like in this hospital. You're missing out a little more. Oh wait, there's more. Lisa thought about the piercing blue-eyed beauty of her. She would be ideal for another type of hospice therapy. It just so happened that when Gaia's owner died, Lisa was finishing her training to be a Doula at the end of her life. It's great to have her around today, she and Gia care for the terminally ill.

Beautiful good morning wow what a beautiful dog thank you hello are you doing all this for Gaia or for yourself? Oh, that's a good question. I think it's a good question. Let's think about that. I think I'm doing this for both of us. I think it benefits both of us. She can go out and see people and I can see the response she gets when she goes out. There is nothing better than those kids' lives changed when she became part of our family. Gia brought this writer. So much so that Canak wrote about their life together in an essay for the Washington Post.

My life is different too. Meeting dozens of people during our visits has brought out the extroverted tendencies I lost during the pandemic before calling each patient. door I breathe and then greet the families with confidence knowing the reaction my partner will receive the readers loved crying tears of happiness thank you for sharing this story love that there are still good people in this world as we pass through the halls of the children's hospital I think of Sandra and I hope you are smiling knowing how much joy Gia brings to everyone she meets. I'm trying not to cry because I don't know.

It's just knowing the effect she has on people. She makes me happy. She makes me sad. because I wish I had known Sandra better, but I think this is the way I'm helping to keep her memory alive, like Mr. Rogers used to say, look for the helpers, well Mr. Rogers, here's two of them. I love this story because it is a great reminder of what it means to be a good neighbor, yes, but also a good dog, this is what dogs do through unconditional love and the difference it makes when you have a dog in your life. , you can, you can see it and I love that you can.

Tell her it's really benefiting both of you David, he's more than just a guy, it's benefiting her too and I love her headline. I didn't know my neighbor, but I took her dog when she died. Wow, very Chang in both of our lives. I see that. David, amazing stuff, I have to say the boy is beautiful, gu is beautiful, he looks like an old dog, I mean that coat is delicious, you have a spring in your step, we were talking off camera about me watching volleyball games during the weekend and they told me. to tell you that they love your stories and this is one of the reasons why, well done again David.