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Inside NBP

Be Mine, Xander

Posted by Diane Croft on 2/02/2014

I know everyone has a Facebook page, even NBP, but I have not been tempted. Ever. Not once. Not for friends or family. Until this moment.

I want to friend Xander.

My son showed me Xander’s Facebook page and I’m completely done in. Xander, a squeezable, fawn-colored pug, suffered a head injury when he was two months old and had both of his eyes removed. At ten months of age, his owners put him in a car and dropped him at an animal shelter. Xander snuggles with a young childBut then two people, Marcie and Rodney Beedy, saw what Xander had to offer the world. They not only adopted Xander, they gave him his own Facebook page. Taking advantage of his new online audience, Xander explains what happened next: “I began using my other senses, the love in my heart and my many blessings to brighten the days of everyone I met.”

Marcie took him to school, where Xander passed his Pet Partners exam and officially became a therapy dog.  Because of who he is—who he was born to be—Xander works with victims of child abuse and spousal abuse. Rodney describes Xander’s unique style: “A lot of times he’ll hear a child crying at an event and he’s bolted several times, at least 500 feet over to this child to comfort them.”

Listen, Xander, I’m right now reading How to Add Friends on Facebook (with pictures). I should have something up by Valentine’s Day. Until then, maybe we can tweet. Send me your hashtag. I’ll send Valentine biscuits that say BE MINE.

Topics: assistance dogs, Diane Croft, animal shelter, Blindness, canine assistants, canine companions, Facebook, Marcie Beedy, National Braille Press, NBP, Rodney Beedy, Social Media, Uncategorized, Pet Partners, therapy dogs, Valentine's Day, Xander