A letter to the Service Dog Project’s founder, Carlene White, from a recipient of one of t

A letter to the Service Dog Project’s founder, Carlene White, from a recipient of one of their assistance danes: 

“Good Morning Carlene, 

Once again, Miss Willow has far surpassed expectations, at least my neurologists and my PT’s, not me. When I found out that I would be attending my friends wedding, a Black Tie affair, I thought "ugh, what am I going to wear with flat shoes and still look elegant”? I also thought about Willow being at an elegant event and seeing the bride who she loves beyond measure and THE DRESS. If Wil’s got near that wedding dress, and decided to “love on” her Auntie, I would die. 

The first thing I did was speak to Melissa, the bride, and tell her I didn’t want Willow anywhere near the dress. More on that later. The next thing I did was decide that Willow and I would try and work toward walking in shoes with a heel. Not 5 inch heels but heels nonetheless. We didn’t need to walk a 5k. We simply needed to walk in to our table. I didn’t need to carry anything as Willow’s vest carries every thing I would need and I could drop off her mat the night before. We had a plan. 

We added walking in “heels” to our workout and we didn’t tell anyone in case we failed. There were some bumps. Some really funny “bumps”. More like bangs actually, but we kept on and Willow I think, was laughing right along with me as we figured it out. We did figure it out. We bought the dress. We went and we found the most amazing shoes and when I tried them on I looked at Wil’s and said “Okay, this is it." 

She came around, braced and we walked! Not a runway walk, but we walked! I burst into tears. A woman, thinking I was in distress came over and asked if I needed help. I explained that I was fine. I was actually happier than I’ve been in a long time. You see, I have not worn heels in 4 years. I then noticed out of the corner of my eye the manager of the shoe department was crying as well. I thought we’d better get out of there before there was a huge scene. We bought the amazing shoes. 

Wil’s and I attended the wedding last night. We walked in looking elegant. Me in my amazing shoes, she looking chic in a black vest, black harness and black and silver "necklace.” As for the bride and THE DRESS? As expected, Willow saw Auntie and was soooo excited. Melissa, being a typical Auntie completely ignored my admonitions and there were plenty of hugs and kisses for Willow. She even was photographed with her multiple times. In light of it all I realized she deserved it. She should get to kiss the bride. After all, she is the most incredible partner I could ever have. She is simply outstanding. 

Thank you and everyone that makes SDP possible for my amazing Willow. It will be a year next month that we began our life together and last night showed just how much SDP and she changed my life.

Most Sincerely, 
Lynne"