here is a GREAT story.....

[ProblemAgain]

Xena the Warrior Puppy, rescued from abuse, helps 8-year-old boy with autism

Laura T. Coffey TODAY

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April 28, 2013 at 9:53 AM ET

For most of Jonny Hickey’s eight years of life, solitude has suited him just fine.

He adores his mom and dad, of course, and he loves his older brother. He also views some special ed teachers as rare, trusted allies. Still, none of those people could get many words out of him.

It’s not that Jonny can’t talk. He knows how to speak, and he can read with proficiency. But autism left him closed off and isolated. Most of his social interactions result in painful awkwardness; unfamiliar situations can trigger terror, tantrums or both. Seeking comfort and predictability, he’d embrace solitary activities; on a typical day after school, he’d spend hours playing with marbles in silence.

Hickey family photo

Jonny Hickey, 8, plays alone with marbles at home. "He has a tough time making friends," mom Linda Hickey said of her son, who has autism.

Then, about two months ago, everything changed. Jonny forged a connection so unlikely that people familiar with it describe it as a miracle. His new confidante brings out the best in him — his playfulness, his cute singing voice, his verbal assessments of everything he sees and experiences.

Jonny connected with a dog.

“He is non-stop chatter now!” Jonny’s mother, Linda Hickey, 44, told TODAY.com. “He has so much to say about his math, about what he did in P.E.

“He is the happiest child that I’ve ever seen him be in eight years.”

Linda HIckey

Jonny Hickey talks incessantly to his new best friend. His mom said she's thrilled that her family's formerly quiet home has so much "spunk." "It has laughter from a little one, and it has soooo much talking," she said.

A lover and a fighter
Jonny’s transformation begins with the miracle that the dog survived to meet Jonny at all.

Mere months before she bounded into Jonny’s world, the pup was brought to the DeKalb County Animal Services’ shelter in Georgia after she collapsed in someone’s yard. When staff members saw her, they recoiled in shock.

Xena the Warrior Puppy / Facebook

When Jonny's future dog arrived at an animal shelter in Georgia in September 2012, she weighed 4 pounds and was close to death.

“I’ve been doing rescue probably for about 12 years, and I had never seen a dog that young in that sort of condition,” said Chrissy Kaczynski, who works for Animal Services and is a founding member of the rescue group Friends of DeKalb Animals. “I brought her home with me and I didn’t think she’d make it through the night.”

But with fluids, nutritional supplements and an urgent vet visit, the puppy began to perk up. Veterinary and shelter staff guessed she was about 4 months old and must have been confined — and starved — in a cage before being dumped.

Xena the Warrior Puppy / Facebook

"Usually a dog on the street can find at least some food, but in this case she must have been locked up somewhere with no food or water at all," said Chrissy Kaczynski, who served as the dog's foster mom for five months and nursed her back to health.

“She was completely dehydrated and her nose was all scabbed over ... like she had been trying to escape something,” Kaczynski said.

Her rapid recovery prompted Kaczynski to dub her “Xena the Warrior Puppy.” A Facebook page soon followed. One local who found Xena’s story irresistible was Linda Hickey, Jonny’s mom.

Xena the Warrior Puppy / Facebook

Xena recovered quickly once she received proper care. DeKalb County Police are still seeking her abuser.

“Yes, I fell in love with a dog on the Internet!” said Linda, whose family lives in Johns Creek, Ga., with two other lovable dogs that are a bit too old or frail to play non-stop with a young boy.

When Friends of DeKalb Animals announced that Xena, believed to be a Staffordshire terrier mix, was strong enough to appear at a fund-raising event in November, Linda brought her family to meet the puppy in person.

“We were literally there for four minutes, and Xena ran right up to Jonny and my husband,” Linda said. “I already loved this dog, and after I met her, I really loved this dog.”

[frenchy]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.............i can't believe thats the same dog .. 

[T2Friends]

If they ever find the person or persons responsible for that neglect, I hope they die a slow and miserable death. 

I am very happy that the puppy is now loved and well cared for and it is wonderful that the puppy has helped a little boy connect with the world.  

[Lifesighs]

I can't imagine anyone treating an animal like that, I am thrilled that she is healthy and loved now. Poor thing.

For the miserable person who did it I hope the same happens and karma works.

[frenchy]

looks a little bit like the shithead i just got .. yeah i know i shouldn't call him that but .. man oh man .. can he ever be .. i wouldn't trade him back in for nothin .. but he can be a real shithead .. but he's my shithead and i'd never treat him like that .. no mattter what he did .. 

[ProblemAgain]

imagine what a miserable excuse for a human being you would have to be to treat anything like that...and maybe that's that person's punishment..to be them cause they must expect that that is the way the world works