Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier Dog Names

Xena, the Warrior Puppy, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was found close to death when she was brought to DeKalb County Animal Services Shelter in Georgia in 2012. The veterinarian on call at the shelter only gave her a one percent chance of living because she was dehydrated, emaciated, and had many infected sores all over her body. Xena was about four months old when someone found her in their yard, and the employees at the shelter believe she was mistreated before being dumped there. She only weighed five pounds when they found her, and a typical Staffordshire of her age should weigh about 20 to 25 pounds. However, the shelter employees did all they could do for her, and after she got a bit better, she was fostered by Chrissy Kacynski, who is the founder of Friends of DeKalb Animals. She got better quickly after that and was put up for adoption soon after. 

The family who adopted Xena, the Hickey’s of John’s Creek, Georgia, got her in March of 2013 after seeing her at an adoption event in February. She was their third rescue pup, and she became their heroine as she proved to bring their autistic son out of isolation and silence. Jonny, who was eight years old at the time, was able to talk but rarely did so until he met his new puppy, Xena. His parents say that Jonny started talking nonstop and singing to Xena all the time. In fact, they say that he has opened up a lot and has even been doing better in school. It was hard for everyone to believe that this once badly abused dog was such a gentle and loving family pet. She still has some scars from her wounds, but her inner scars seemed to have healed and did not stop her from trusting and loving humans. 

Since adopting Xena, Jonny has gone from quiet and reserved to outgoing and happy. Like most children who are on the autism spectrum, Jonny has issues with personal space and does not like anyone to get too close to him. However, Xena is able to climb all over him, lick his face, and sit on his lap while all Jonny does is smile and laugh. His mother says that Jonny’s personality is completely different and that after spending thousands of dollars on therapy for Jonny, the best therapy he ever got was the day they brought Xena home.