Xena is the former recipient of an AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) honorable mention honor for her work as an exemplary companion dog to a little boy who has autism. Xena was found as a young puppy; she had been badly abused and it was uncertain if she would survive. But she did and she was adopted by the Hickey family of Johns Creek, GA, where she has made huge difference in the life of their son Jonny Hickey, as this report from CNN shows.