These stories are wonderful! I have had Cassie less then a year and she has not saved my life, or had any opportunity to but I think she would give it grand effort if the opportunity came up.

Graham has not saved my life in a "Lassie" sort of way but he helped me through a very bad depression my 2nd year of college. One day I woke with a pain in my ear, and at the time I did not have any health insurance so I ignored it for a couple days. The pain got worse and moved to the other ear also, and so I scraped together any money that I could and went to the doctor. He looked in my ears and told me that I had a pretty severe ear infection in both ears and since I could not pay for any antibiotics he would give me enough free samples to wipe out this infection. The strange thing is I had never even had a mild ear infection, even as a baby. So anyway the infection got worse and worse...the antibiotics did nothing. I grew very scared and depressed. I applied for a credit card so I could go to the doctor again because I was so broke and so was my mother and I felt bad asking her for money because I know she could not afford it. So I began charging doctor bills and not being able to pay for any bills. The ear infection got worse. The doctor told me that he thinks I needed to have surgical tubes put in my ears. This was scary because I had no money and I had never had surgery before and I was terrified. I tried several different kinds of antibiotics, no luck. I began to lose my hearing and it got so bad that even when I sat in the front row in the lecture hall I could not hear my professer. I was failing all of my classes because I could not hear the professors and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get my hearing back. I was horrified. Graham was the only thing that kept me sane. He taught me that everything would be ok and I have to remain positive, my ears would get better and my hearing would come back. I would come home from class sobbing because I heard nothing that the professor said, my notebook was nearly blank except for the stuff the prof wrote on the chalk board and when I got home I would just hold Graham and sob. He was so dear and he was the only friend I wanted to be with. I was embarressed to be with friends because I could not join in with their conversations. I truly had a handicap and I was ashamed. Graham kept me strong and he kept me from losing my mind. Even though I eventually had to drop all of my classes because of this ear infection and leave Michigan Tech because my grades dropped so low before I dropped the classes I always had Graham to look forward to every morning when I woke up. He was my angel and, although all he gave me was moral support, that was the only thing I needed to help me through that horrifing and depressing time.

I dropped out of college because of my grades, I moved back home with my mom and my faithful friend, Graham, and my infection gradually went away and my hearing started to come back. I don't hear as well as I used to, that infection left a small amount of permenant damage, but I am grateful that it came back and I can once again hear. I don't know what I would have done without Graham and his moral support with his positive energy and happy spirit. He's my hero.