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People Take to Instagram to Share Heartfelt Posts About How Their Dog Has Helped Them

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After seeing the success of the cute dog shaming posts, a man decided to put his own spin on the sign-wearing-dog photos.

A few months back CJ Miyake, the founder of Los Angeles-based Rescue Strong, a lifestyle brand that gives back, took to Instagram for a Leverage Love campaign (#leveragelove) in which he asked people to post pictures of their dogs wearing signs telling the world what their pup does for them, while helping to raise money for local rescue group Ghetto Rescue.

“Our animals play so many different roles for everyone and I thought it would be nice to share some of that on social media,” Miyake tells This Dog’s Life.” I wanted to raise awareness for rescued dogs, their potential to change our lives and help raise money for one of my favorite rescues.”

With is success, Miyake decided to do it again, this time naming it Leverage Love 2.

“I love this campaign,” he tells us. “The stories were so powerful the first time we ran it that I’ve been wanting to do another one for a while.”

Miyake asked owners to share stories about how their rescues impact their life, donate to Ghetto Rescue (suggested $5 donation) and stated his company would match up to $500 and provide gift certificates to the winners.

Related: 8 Stars Tell Us How Having a Dog Changed Their Life

The response was huge, with many people expressing how their dog has helped them through life – everything from making them smile to being there while they fight cancer. The campaign managed to raise more than $1,400 for the week-long campaign.

Miyake selected three but said it was the “toughest part as I loved them all.”

Winner: a reason to live

Winner: follow your passion

Winner: reminder to cherish every day

Here are some of the other amazing things dog do for us:

Act as an antidepressant

 Related:10 Owners Reveal Why They Absolutely Adore Their Pit Bull

Are there to comfort those dealing with awful diseases

Including chemo

And chronic diseases

#leveragelove2 is a campaign to promote the joys and benefits of adopting a rescue dog. So here is mom sharing her story: I adopted Boo during the hardest period of my life. I was one year into an unsuccessful search for a diagnosis for the condition (we later discovered it was POTS) that ended my varsity running career, cut me off from my main source of social support in college, and called into question my ability to pursue any of the careers I was studying for. I got permission to have Boo as an emotional support animal, and he exceeded all expectations in fulfilling that role. No matter how bad life gets, Boo can always brighten my day with a sleepy cuddle, a cute yawn, a happy snort– because when all the big things are going wrong, even the smallest of wagging tails is enough to turn a day around. A photo posted by Boo The Eyeless Floof (@blindboo) on

Help deal with the anxieties of life

Reminds us the importance of family

Even when defined as four-legged friend.

By Andrea Huspeni

Andrea Huspeni is the founder and CEO of This Dog's Life. Her mission it to help dogs live a happier, healthier and longer life. When she isn't working, she spends time with her two dogs, Lola and Milo. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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