Vicki Van Der Hoek met Leon Shields by chance one day when Vicki's dog, Lucky, took off and started running loose in their Clayton County neighborhood.
She was in his her early 50s; he was just 6 years old. She was white. He was African American. She was broke, at least until her divorce was finalized. He was from a middle-class, two-parent family. She was lonely. He had plenty of friends. They were 45 years apart.
But Leon would give Vicki a reason to get out of bed every day.
She was lonely and had nothing to look forward to - until she met Leon. Ultimately, she says now, he saved her life.
Read the rest of the story about an unlikely but extraordinary friendship between Vicki and Leon, a friendship that continues today 13 years later.
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