The original service mutt that got me through it all goes by the nickname Sweet T. A beautiful retriever mix known for her love of everyone she meets is now enjoying her retirement by helping me train the future service mutts of tomorrow. As her third home, Sweet T came to me with a variety of issues, the biggest being her confidence. It took a lot of work, but she went from being afraid of linoleum to walking me across the stage my senior year of college. I will always be thankful for the dog that taught me that with some dedication, consistency, and a dash of optimism, anything is possible.

Where do I begin with Hazey Crazy? I adopted Hazel while attending college to train her to take over for when Sweet T would retire. She came from a kill shelter down south. She was on the list of dogs to be euthanized, but ended up getting rescued the day of. I adopted her from an animal sanctuary and when she came home, the first thing she did was destroy my comforter. That’s when I knew I was in for a ride! Now, at 3 years of age Hazel is a fully trained service dog who has been with me through countless college lectures, hospital trips, and just about everything else. It took an incredible amount of work and patience to get here, but she’s saved my life more than once and I don’t know how I’d do it without her.