Allowing Grace, by Sonja Wingard

Despite it being very cold, it was a heartwarming winter.

Some people very close to my heart have come back to Animals as Natural Therapy, to say hello and re-engage with us both four- and two-legged.

First to visit was Jesus Lopez, who came to tell us he wants to make a video about how ANT helps foster kids. He shared that he now has a good job, a car, and is creating a family with his fiancé, Lidia. He is proud of himself and rightly so; he came to ANT as a foster teen who had never known family.

Six years ago, when Jesus first came to ANT, he was sixteen and had lived in & out of 28 foster homes over 12 years. Three or four times a week he was running away from school, as he did not have the skills to handle anxiety and the many things that triggered him. Jesus didn’t want to come here, yet his foster agency believed it might help him…and it changed his life.