Dean Koontz, best-selling author of “Innocence” and more: “For years, my wife and I have worked with Canine Companions for Independence, which provides assistance dogs to people with quadriplegia, spina bifida and other conditions. We have met hundreds of people with severe disabilities and have never heard one of them complain, because they are intent on living their lives to the fullest. Every year, my resolution is to remember always that my most serious problems are mere nuisances compared to those of others, that happiness is a choice, and that the proper response to the vicissitudes of life is profound gratitude for life itself.”
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images