A retired veteran had trouble finding a job because he needed his service dog with him: Lowe’s hired both of them
Clay Luthy was hired by a Texas store... alongside his service dog.
When Clay Luthy walked into the Lowe’s store in Abilene, Texas, for a job interview, he wasn’t alone. By his side was his golden-retriever service dog, Charlotte, his partner through deployments, surgeries and recovery after his years of service in the air force.
Luthy served in the United States Air Force for several tours. Following his military career, he found everyday life challenging, thanks to multiple knee surgeries and a disability that made independent mobility difficult.
Charlotte had been by his side during recovery and assisted him beyond the role of a pet. Knowing he couldn’t easily separate his employment hopes from having her with him, Luthy made a bold request to the interviewer: he needed Charlotte to be employed too.
Jay Fellers, a human resource manager at Lowes, told CNN affiliate KRBC that “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,”
“The store said they’d had service-dogs in throughout Lowe’s,” Luthy recalled, so bringing Charlotte to work wasn’t an issue. “Instead of medications, I have Charlotte.”
Inside the store, Charlotte has a quiet corner to rest, while Luthy works in lighter-duty roles such as in the paint section, a smart accommodation to balance his health needs with active employment. Their presence together quickly captured attention. Store-visitors loved seeing the friendly duo roaming aisles, and the story quickly went viral after a customer photo was shared online.
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Research shows that service-animals like Charlotte offer benefits that go beyond simple companionship; they assist in alerting their owners to medical issues, reducing stress and helping with PTSD symptoms. This story shows that despite everything going on in the U.S., we still have feel-good stories from kind-hearted people willing to see beyond the job-post and accommodate a person’s unique needs.
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