LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KMGH/CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) - A woman took up training service dogs to honor her late daughter.
July is Disability Pride Month, but Barbara Henry's organization in Lakewood, Colorado works throughout the year towards improving the lives of those with impairments.
Domino Service Dogs made training service canines for the local community much lot easier. Henry first got the idea when her daughter Caitlin, who had acquired a spinal cord injury at a young age, made a request.
https://local12.com/news/nation-wor...espass-assault-arrest-spalding-county-georgia
"She said, 'mom, you know, I need a service dog. That's what I need to make my life better.' I thought I'd make a few phone calls. You know, she's kind of cute. Anybody would want to help her, and that's not the way that worked out," Henry told reporters.
It turned out, for several reasons, Caitlin didn't qualify to receive a service dog from national nonprofits and adopting her own would have been quite expensive.
So that's when Caitlin started training their dog, Badger, all by herself.
"She gave Caitlin her independence," said Henry.
In that process, Henry and her daughter started hearing from other folks that were encountering the same issue, and it became apparent to her the community needed an organization to step in and offer an affordable two-year curriculum for anyone to just train their own service dog.
"It was her dream that people with disabilities would have access to service dogs, even if they couldn't afford to pay," said Henry. "When Caitlin passed away, they retired the flag."
Sadly, Caitlin passed away in 2017 at age 18, but she earned the respect of Colorado's highest officials just before passing.
"She worked on a bill that specifically made it illegal to misrepresent yourself as a person with a disability," said Henry.
All eight of her bills passed.
"I'm sure she was excited, but I don't think she was overly excited. She was like: 'this has to be done,'" Henry told reporters.
Her daughter's legacy lives on in those bills, and in the hundreds of dogs that come through the doors of Dominos Service Dogs, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this August. Henry said it can get hard to still come into work every day, however.
"It's meaningful, and some days it breaks my heart," Henry admitted.
She said she's proud to carry out her daughters dream.
"Every day you're doing something that makes her happy," said Henry. "Yes. Definitely doing that."
local12.com
July is Disability Pride Month, but Barbara Henry's organization in Lakewood, Colorado works throughout the year towards improving the lives of those with impairments.
Domino Service Dogs made training service canines for the local community much lot easier. Henry first got the idea when her daughter Caitlin, who had acquired a spinal cord injury at a young age, made a request.
https://local12.com/news/nation-wor...espass-assault-arrest-spalding-county-georgia
"She said, 'mom, you know, I need a service dog. That's what I need to make my life better.' I thought I'd make a few phone calls. You know, she's kind of cute. Anybody would want to help her, and that's not the way that worked out," Henry told reporters.
It turned out, for several reasons, Caitlin didn't qualify to receive a service dog from national nonprofits and adopting her own would have been quite expensive.
So that's when Caitlin started training their dog, Badger, all by herself.
"She gave Caitlin her independence," said Henry.
In that process, Henry and her daughter started hearing from other folks that were encountering the same issue, and it became apparent to her the community needed an organization to step in and offer an affordable two-year curriculum for anyone to just train their own service dog.
"It was her dream that people with disabilities would have access to service dogs, even if they couldn't afford to pay," said Henry. "When Caitlin passed away, they retired the flag."
Sadly, Caitlin passed away in 2017 at age 18, but she earned the respect of Colorado's highest officials just before passing.
"She worked on a bill that specifically made it illegal to misrepresent yourself as a person with a disability," said Henry.
All eight of her bills passed.
"I'm sure she was excited, but I don't think she was overly excited. She was like: 'this has to be done,'" Henry told reporters.
Her daughter's legacy lives on in those bills, and in the hundreds of dogs that come through the doors of Dominos Service Dogs, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this August. Henry said it can get hard to still come into work every day, however.
"It's meaningful, and some days it breaks my heart," Henry admitted.
She said she's proud to carry out her daughters dream.
"Every day you're doing something that makes her happy," said Henry. "Yes. Definitely doing that."
Adversity into empowerment: Woman trains service dogs to honor late daughter
She said she's proud to carry out her daughters dream.
local12.com
