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Peter Coukoulis is a 26-year-old veteran from Tallahassee, Florida, who was having a tough time adjusting to civilian life.
He had joined the Marine Corps when he was just 18, and he had seen the worst of humanity while being deployed in a violent province in Afghanistan.
Peter had lost his war comrades and his loyal bomb-detecting dog to an IED blast. The ex-soldier desperately tried to move on with his life, but his heart was scarred permanently.
Peter’s family was very worried seeing him struggling with depression and PTSD for the past 3 years.
Thankfully, Peter’s mom, Dena, knew just the right thing that would help her boy cope with his demons. She remembered that Peter had a Beagle companion while growing up but the dog had died while he was away at war.
So she decided to get him a Beagle puppy before Christmas, and surprise him with a gift-wrapped pre-Christmas puppy-present!
In this heartwarming video, we see Peter’s overwhelming reaction when he sees the puppy for the first time. He breaks down in tears and embraces the puppy while the puppy showers him with kisses.
His family tells him that the puppy was called “Willa” at the shelter because of her strong will to live despite all odds! We wish Willa and Peter all the happiness together!
Click the video below to watch Peter’s emotional tears as he gets surprised with a puppy before Christmas!
Here’s another story that we know will make you smile:
Snow has been heavy in Cleveland, Ohio, making for a tough commute for the city’s residents. Since it is difficult to get around these days, one woman and her dogs came up with a clever form of transportation that also makes people smile.
A mother-daughter duo from Lakewood has been involved with sled dog racing for many years. Seeing the white powdery stuff all over their sidewalks inspired them to have some canine outdoor fun.
“All of our neighbors were out trying to shovel themselves out just laughing because they know we do it,” sled dog racer Amy Onyak shared. “It was a magical surprise to wake up and see all this awesome snow and just to be able to have fun.”
The family uses goes to Michigan for dog sled races but due to the pandemic, they are unable to do that this year.
For Amy and her daughter, dog sledding down the sidewalk and entertaining their neighbors served as a nice alternative to the in-person competition.
As far as their neighbors, perhaps they woke up to the blanket of snow, saw the sled dogs, and thought they were in the North Pole.
Whatever the case, all it took was a heavy snowfall and some clever canine ingenuity to make the holidays a little bit brighter and a little bit brighter for the folks in Cleveland.
Press play on the video below to see the fun.
