My parents have a boxer dog called Boris which is as badly behaved as his name might suggest. He is known to ________ on a chair at the kitchen table expecting full ________. Whenever the dishwasher is being stacked, he likes to add a personal prewash to the ________.

Even my mother might ________ that Boris is the worst-behaved dog she has ever had, but on the plus side, he is very ________.

The sofas and chairs in their sitting room are covered in books-not because my parents love to read, but in an attempt to ________ the dog climbing on the furniture. ________, any human who wants to sit on a sofa has to ________ a library of books. I’ve suggested a removable cover would be more attractive, or training, but it’s too late for that.

The story between my parents and Boris is repeated across our community. Usually, our gang of dogs gathered almost daily, ________ did we. A group of folks of different ages, backgrounds and interests—all ________ by our dogs. Friends are therefore made through dogs, creating a ________ that lasts far beyond the lifespan of our canine(犬的)family. Sunny, Jess and Archie have all ________ now, but the friendship between us humans remains.

I have met so many people whose daily ________ with their group of dog have been their mainstay and helped them deal with ________. They are medicine for the_________. Dogs are actually man’s best friends.

A decade ago, the day before Christmas, my mother announced we were no longer celebrating Christmas. “Boys, go to find a big _________ that we can use as a tree”. My mother said, “We are going to _________ the tree with leftovers for the seagulls to eat. Those guys must get _________ in winter when there isn’t much _________.”

“Mom, we don’t want to _________ you, but does anyone else think it kind of crazy?” One of my brothers asked _________. “You’ll do whatever your mother wants.” My father jumped into _________. Then on the -30°beach, my family gathered around a branch stuck into the _________ with boxes of food to _________ what my mom named “Seagull Day.” Our bodies shook, fingers __________.

Ten years later, with the chill of the air and the __________ of kids, my mom declared, “Find little places on the tree to __________ the snacks. Think of them as beautiful decorations.” My daughters, nieces and nephews __________ immediately with wild joy. When the boxes and bags of snacks were __________, we stood back and __________ our creation. We asked a passer-by to take pictures of us with our tree. “What’s this all about?” She asked __________.

“It’s Seagull Day!” The kids said __________. They were surprised when people hadn’t heard of Seagull Day. To them, it was a(an)__________ — maybe as big as a national — holiday.

My social media posts and pictures have __________ long lines of questions and the “I want to do this next year!” promise. I __________ everyone, “Yes, you do!”

The epilepsy (癫痫) changed Parker’s life completely. The Fresno boy was having seizures (突然发作) almost __________. He no longer could attend public school, and his time with friends was __________. Then, Parker met “Toby the Great”.

Toby, the yellow dog didn’t look __________ at first. Labrador Retriever Rescue of Fresno had brought him from a local shelter. Parker’s mother, Mandy, recalls a thin, hyper (亢奋的), dirty dog. She was convinced this was not to be their dog. But Parker __________ Toby. And so Toby joined the family.

Shortly Toby taught himself how to __________ his boy’s seizures before they happened. It slightly __________ Mandy the first time Toby tried to help. He was jumping on Parker, and biting lightly his mother’s hands. Mandy called a trainer for advice, worried about this strange, irregular __________. Then Parker had a seizure. It turned out Toby was trying not to let Parker get up because he could __________ a seizure coming and was trying to __________ Mandy.

Since then, Toby has learned how to fetch emergency seizure medicine for Parker. He’ll also run to get Parker’s mom when a seizure is __________. If Parker is sitting down when a seizure is about to happen, Toby __________ on the boy and doesn’t let him __________.

Parker says Toby helps him feel safe and secure. Along with being a friend, the dog has given him the __________ to be more independent.

“I could __________ sleep in my room alone, just me and Toby,” Parker said. “I can go out and ride my bike, just me and Toby. Toby’s __________ changed, too. He went from being a homeless dog, to rescue, to the most important part of my medical team.”

“Our family rescued Toby,” Parker says, “but he really rescued me.”