Renata Di Pietro was studying to be a singer at the University of Iowa. But at 23, she found she couldn’t see clearly. Soon, it, became increasingly   _______   to read scores and pick up hand signals from conductor(指挥），and Renata was forced to _______ .

For years, Renata depended on guide dogs to _______. But finally, she found it heartbreaking. A dog’s working life is _______— just six to 10 years before it ages out of service or dies. “It’s very _______, because you love each one.” she says.

In 2009，while   _______ another guide dog, Renata was interested by_______ from a friend that miniature horse(小矮马）usually live for thirty years and make calm and strong guides. They are very _______: There are only about ten of them working in the United States.   _______ choosing a guide dog, Renata decided to turn to a mini horse—and the ________   as changed her life. Renata   ________ with a male horse, but he was too hard to ________   . Angel came next, a white female horse Renata has mostly trained herself. “ Horses naturally ________   obstacles(障碍），she says. If I am about to ________ something, she moves her body in front of me.

Renata has taught her ________ to react to directional commands. “Angel can________ a chair and the nearest door for me,” Renata says. Now, she's ________ Angel to pull her wheelchair.

Despite (尽管）her   ________       , Renata still gives performances with her husband, musician Carl Hummer, at special events. Angel is   ________ by her side. “l fight a battle every day to get the courage to take part in life,” Renata says. “Angel is my warhorse. We fight that battle________. ”

Simply finishing a marathon is a big achievement, but one woman in Thailand didn’t just run all 26.2 miles — she also _________ a little dog, Chombueng!

Runner Klongsanun was _________ a local marathon on Jan. 20th, 2023 when around mile seven, she noticed a seemingly _________ young dog along the roadside.

While other runners reportedly passed by the dog, Klongsanun, a dog lover, decided to pick it up and finish the _________. However, she still had 19 more miles to go. For anyone running a marathon, carrying any kind of _________ for 19 miles can make a marathon even more _________ and tiring. But instead of putting the dog down or _________ it to a looker-on to hold, the _________ Klongsanun crossed the finish line with the tiny dog in her arms.

After the race, Klongsanun _________ to take the dog home. Klongsanun even went back to the area where she first __________ Chombueng to make sure there weren’t any other dogs in need of __________, but she didn’t find any other animals.

“It was __________ a challenge to run almost 20 miles carrying a dog. __________, I did it because he is pitiful,” said Klongsanun. It looks like Chombueng has found a(n) __________ family while Klongsanun has a marathon __________ she’ll never forget.

When I was young, we lived in an area known as Fruitland for the apple trees that grew there. Since my father was a _________ carpenter(木匠), our house was elegantly built. A porch(门廊) wrapped around the front and side of it. Past the soft green lawn, the _________ was surrounded by forest. During the hot summers, my brother, Curtis and I spent our days outside with old Belle, our father’s _________. We loved to play on a large pile of _________ that was left over from the construction of the house.

One morning when we went outside to play, we couldn’t _________ Belle. We searched everywhere, but useless. _________, we found her standing near the pile of rocks that was our playground. As we _________ the rocks, Belle growled(咆哮) at us. It seemed something _________ happened there. Feeling strange, we went back to the house, and told our mother about Belle’s _________.

Mother __________ to see for herself, but when she tried to come close to Belle, the dog again gave a __________ growl. Our mother told us to stay away. All day, Belle __________ by the pile of rocks, without water or food, in the hot sun.

When our father __________, he, too, went to check on Belle. There Belle grabbed his pants and __________ him to the rocks. To our __________, my father found a large copperhead snake there. Our beloved Belle had kept us safe.