Keira, our 110 pound Akbash.

Several years ago, while my wife and I were visiting north Louisiana, a small, dirty gutter dog wondered up to us. She had no tag, no collar and from the looks of it, no one to cared for her. She was a tiny little puppy who could not have been more than a few months old. Even though she was young, the streets did not care. It was obvious she had skipped a few meals and we even noticed she had an injury to one of her paws, which to this day, still has not fully healed.

As we stood there looking down at this mangy ball of fur we couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was the dog version of Pig-Pen from the Peanuts. Her short life had been rough up until this moment, but that did not stop her from showing how excited she was that someone finally noticed her. With her little curly tail waging back and forth she wondered closer to us, tilting her little head sideways and sniffing the air while licking her snout in a playful manner.

After some discussions between Ashlie and I about how we couldn't bring her home with us, we found ourselves loading her into our car. Since that fateful day, she has grown some and due to the dedicated training by my wife, she is a certified therapy dog. She now goes to nursing homes and hospice facilities, bringing joy to peoples lives who don't have much life left.

Keira is more then a pet or therapy dog, she is our best friend!