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The therapeutic benefits of dogs are well known. But this story shows just how beneficial human/dog relationships can be.

When John wasn’t reaching his developmental milestones, his parents, Linda and Grant, first suspected that he had special needs.

By the time he reached the age of one, they were convinced.

After a range of medical evaluations, doctors diagnosed John with autism.

Of course, the child’s parents would accept him for who he was. They just hoped that they could be successful in giving him a full life.

But for a while, Linda and Grant struggled. John would start screaming if anything upset him.

Then, from an unusual source, the family found the thing that would help John cope with the difficulties of adapting to the world.

A news report showed a severely abused puppy, Xena. Some shelter volunteers had never seen a dog in a worse state.

Linda’s heart went out to the dog. She decided to follow her journey on Facebook. Over the weeks, she saw the puppy gradually recover.

When the puppy had gained enough strength, she was well enough to find a forever home. Linda and Grant enthusiastically applied to take her in, even though they already had two dogs.

So the shelter volunteers brought Xena over for a trial visit. She would sleepover for the night to see if she fit in.

John and his older brother, Christian, had no idea that Xena was coming over. Their first introduction was when Linda picked them up from school.

Instantly, John and Xena connected.

“He couldn’t believe it. It was a complete surprise. She’s licking him all over his face. And he was smile from ear to ear.” – Linda.

Everyone in the family was shocked. John had barely even registered the family’s other two dogs. In fact, they said that it was like John and the dogs were in parallel worlds. But Xena was a different story entirely.

At home, John and Xena continued to play with one another for the rest of the day. The family had never seen the boy look so happy.

By this point, the parents had spent thousands of dollars on therapy to help John. But in just a couple of hours, Xena had made more progress in making John happy than any medical professional ever had done.

Over the next few days, the parents were astonished at the difference in John’s personality.

At the supermarket, John would want to head inside instead of wait in the car. And he was happily interacting with people while he was in the store.

John’s performance in school also improved dramatically. He would never have a bad day anymore.

A video of John and Xena’s friendship then appeared on YouTube, where it went viral. To date, it has gained over 8.9 million views. It also has more than 5,600 likes.

Since this video appeared, Xena has been named the ASPCA dog of the year, and John has continued to thrive.

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Source: Xena The Warrior Puppy