Georgia resident Linda Hickey was stunned recently to learn firsthand that love really is the best medicine when she saw what happened to her son after she introduced a new member of the family to him.

Linda is a mother of two children, and her youngest son is 8 year-old Jonny, who unfortunately suffers from autism. Watching her son struggle to cope with his disability was difficult for Linda, and she began to wonder if he would ever have a normal life.

Jonny had trouble making friends at school, as he did not want to interact with anyone outside of his immediate family. He didn’t like going anywhere in public, even if his parents were with him.

“I couldn’t even order cold cuts at the deli counter,” explained Jonny’s father, Grant, “because I’d roll up in front of the deli counter, I’d say ‘Give me a half a pound of this, a half a pound of that,’ and Jonny would just start screaming.”

The family adopted two dogs, but Jonny did not bond with them at all.

“Jonny would not interact with those dogs at all,” Grant recalled. “It was as if they were in parallel worlds.”

Just when Linda was worrying about Jonny like she never had before, she heard about a dog who had been found in critical condition and needed help. The little puppy was named Xena, and she had been horrifically abused for her whole life. She was in such bad condition when she made it to the animal shelter that it was thought that she might not survive.

“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 shelter worker Chrissy Kaczynski.

Linda felt an immediate connection to Xena, and as she followed the dog’s recovery on Facebook, she realized she wanted her to be part of her family.

Linda contacted Chrissy and the two arranged for Xena to come to her family’s home on a trial basis. The plan was for Xena to spend one night in the home to see how the family would react to her, and the results were better than anyone was expecting.

When Xena met Jonny, she immediately ran up to him and licked his face. From that moment on, the two were inseparable, as they shared an immediate bond! Since meeting Xena, Jonny has been happy and has had no problem interacting with people! His parents have been stunned and relieved to see all the changes Xena has brought to his personality.

Both Xena and Jonny know what it’s like to be faced with difficult challenges early in life, and they are now ready to face the rest of life’s obstacles together!

“You know, we’ve spent thousands of dollars on therapy,” Linda admitted, “and I just said to myself that that is the best therapy, standing with four legs in my family room.”

Find out more about this amazing story in the video below, and SHARE this so your friends and family can see this as well!