20 Mar Furry Friends Provide Comfort and Smiles for Alexa

“Special visits with Mabel make her day and forever memories,” said Alexa’s mother, Liza Rodriquez of Savannah, Georgia.

Following her orthopedic surgery for spina bifida last year, Alexa,11, and her family regularly travel to Atlanta for treatment. The Atlanta Ronald McDonald House provides a much-needed respite.

Alexa loves solving puzzles, horses and dogs. Betty Lou and Mabel, the House therapy dogs, bring moments of joy and relief during her treatments.

For Alexa’s mom, “meeting all the wonderful people who run the Houses,” has made a difference. “The House is a special place, and the indoor treehouse is pretty cool.”

“The Atlanta Ronald McDonald House is a very organized program” that reduces the stress of traveling for medical treatments, Liza said.