This veteran needed to work with his service dog so Lowe's hired them both

Charlotte even has her very own vest.
 By 
Brian Koerber
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

A Lowe's hardware store in Abilene, Texas, is feeling the praise online after hiring a veteran and his service dog.

Air Force veteran Clay Luthy was having difficulty finding a job due to his service dog named Charlotte, who accompanies him at all times. But while other companies were unable to hire Luthy and Charlotte, the hardware store stepped in and offered the two a job.

“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 KRBC.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Charlotte, a 10-year-old golden retriever, goes to work with Luthy during his shifts, alerts him and helps him stay calm. She also has the ability to help Luthy up, should he fall. According to Reporter News, Luthy was a C-130 loadmaster in the Air Force until he "blew out" both of his knees. After five surgeries, he is still unable to bend his left knee.

“Instead of medications, I have Charlotte,” Luthy told KRBC.

Charlotte can be spotted working beside Luthy sporting her very own Lowe's vest, which has become quite the hit with customers.

Last weekend, customer Judy Dechert Rose posted a photo praising Lowe's for hiring the two, which has since racked up more than 118,000 likes.

"Everybody loves Charlotte. This definitely was not part of the job description," Luthy told the Abilene Reporter News.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But at 10-years-old, Charlotte's hard working days are nearing an end. Luthy tells says he has a 6-month-old golden named Lola at home that's currently training to be Charlotte's replacement.

As for Charlotte, Luthy says that her "golden" years may be best spent bringing smiles to the faces of people in hospitals.

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Brian Koerber

Brian was the Culture Editor and has been working at Mashable on the web culture desk since 2014.

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