𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱: 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝘀

Ray Ray, a Pennsylvania house cat, turned a family road trip into a headline when he rode unnoticed for 100 miles on the roof of the family van. He emerged unharmed and unrepentant, earning a New York City detour and a new routine—traveling in a cat backpack, on a leash, like a celebrity with security.

Duke, a golden retriever, built his own fan base by stealing nearly everything that wasn’t nailed down—lamps, glasses, picture frames, purses, even plates. He didn’t destroy them. He displayed them, proudly, before guarding his haul on the bed. Mischief, as therapy.

Some animals stitched people together.

When Faygo, a goldendoodle in Virginia, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, his owners asked neighbors to stop by and say hello. People came—dozens of them—offering treats, pets, and time. In Faygo’s final days, a community formed around a dog many had never met before.

Others saved lives outright.

At an adoption event, a shelter dog sensed something wrong and alerted a man just before he had a seizure. His wife got him home in time to give medication that likely prevented a medical emergency.

In New Hampshire, a search-and-rescue dog named Freyja worked nearly five hours through cold, dense forest to find a missing two-year-old girl. When Freyja led rescuers to the child, she carried more than a scent—she carried time, survival, and a family’s breath held and released.

Some animals gave people a reason to keep going.

Beef, an English bulldog recovering from pneumonia, set the pace for Manny Miranda’s slow return to exercise—short walks, steady steps, shared progress.

Kate Cramer found her footing again after her daughter left for college when she rescued Little Leaf, a newborn goat abandoned by her mother. Nursing the kid through the night filled the quiet. Now they travel together, the goat no longer fragile, the grief no longer empty. “She really grounded me and gave me something to take care of and focus on again,” Kate said.

And in West Virginia, Courtney Proctor Cross took responsibility for lives others had written off—transforming a struggling shelter into a nationally recognized no-kill refuge.

None of these animals set out to heal a year. They didn’t follow a plan or a prescription. They stayed. They noticed. They needed care—and gave it back.

In a year marked by uncertainty, pets offered something stubbornly reliable: connection that didn’t ask for explanations, joy that arrived unannounced, and purpose that showed up every morning, waiting at the door.

Learn more about the role and impact of pets on the lives of people through the incredible human-animal bond by reading Unleashing the Bond: Harnessing the Power of Human-Animal Interactions: https://a.co/d/3tBxi7s

The above story is excerpted and paraphrased from the Washington Post article titled "How Pets Healed Us This Year," https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../12/26/pets-healed-us-2025