There are so many stories about animals that have made people's lives better. This is one of them.

On Wednesday, an envelope appeared on my desk. It was a letter from Kazuko Hardy with a photo of Yuuki, a Bichon Frise puppy.

Hardy, 81, wrote that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and endured bouts of chemotherapy and major surgery to fight this awful disease.

This summer, while at a shopping mall, she saw a sleepy white puppy with a shiny nose in the pet store. She took the dog home and named her Yuuki, which means "courageous" in Japanese so Yuuki could remind her to always have courage while battling this awful disease.

A month later after getting Yuuki, Hardy fractured her spine and could not walk. She wrote, "I endured the pain until the fracture healed. I found her cold vinyl nose and devotion made the days bearable. Whenever I had to get up to take my medication or when I did not feel well, she nudged me to uplift my moods and banished my loneliness by pressing her wet nose on me to tell me she was there."

In October, she was told that the cancer had spread to her liver and lungs and she has only three to six months to live. Hardy's daughter, Cheryl Seawright, flew from Mountain View, Calif., to take care of her mother. She believes Yuuki is a godsend.

"This dog makes my mom laugh because she has an incredible personality. Yuuki walks like a lamb, bouncing all over the place, making my mother laugh. Because Yuuki needs to be walked, my mother gets her exercise every day."

The time Yuuki spends with her mother is precious. "My mom talks to her in Japanese, and I think Yuuki really understands her. They even sleep together in the living room while my mother watches Korean soaps. I believe God created dogs to touch people in a certain way. That's what this dog did for my mother."

Kazuko ended her note with this, "Yuuki has inspired me to continue living as fully as possible, to another day of delightful laughter and love."

Animal lover Leslie Kawamoto has been with the Advertiser for 18 years, or 126 in dog years. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs.