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Disabled Air Force Vet, Service Dog Make Great Team on the Job

Air Force veteran Clay Luthy and his co-worker / Twitter
December 6, 2016

Disabled Air Force veteran Clay Luthy was struggling to find work because he needed his service dog at his side until two months ago when a Lowe's in Abilene, Texas hired him for a part-time job.

As a disabled veteran with knee issues, Luthy was already facing an uphill battle and a competitive market for work. But finding a job where his service dog, Charlotte, could serve alongside him proved even more difficult until he had an interview at Lowe's.

"We were interviewing people for his position, and he was one of the applicants. And so he showed up for the interview and he had Charlotte with him," Jay Fellers, a human resource manager at Lowe's, told CNN affiliate KRBC.

Charlotte has been with Luthy for ten years and helps alert him and calm him down, according to CNN.

"Instead of medications, I have Charlotte," Luthy said.

Luthy is often scheduled to work in store departments like the paint section where there is a place for Charlotte, who has her own Lowe's vest while on the job, to sit.

"I have a service vest and the vest she wears at work so that people know when they can pet her," Luthy said.

Charlotte is a hit with the customers, according to Fellers, as is the store's efforts to support a veteran.

One of the supporters, Judy Dechert Rose, posted a picture on her Facebook page praising Lowe's for looking out for the disabled vet and his service dog.

"I love Abilene Lowes, way to go! This is a disabled vet who struggled to get a job because he needs his service dog! Lowes hired them BOTH!!" Rose wrote.