Meet the founder
Faith Harris
Walking With Honor was not created in a moment of confidence — it was created in a moment of honesty.
For years, I carried the idea of this organization quietly in my heart. Ever since my service dog, Honor, came into my life, I knew this work mattered. But knowing and believing in yourself enough to make something real are two very different things. For a long time, I didn’t believe I was capable. I talked about “someday,” while quietly telling myself I wasn’t ready.
That changed when I made the decision to return to school.
As I prepared to go back and possibly choose a new direction, I was forced to ask myself a hard question: Why am I still running from what I’m good at — and what matters most to me? The answer was clear. I wasn’t meant to walk away from this work. I was meant to finally step fully into it.
So I chose both. I began pursuing my degree in Animal-Assisted Interventions, and I made Walking With Honor real — not someday, but now.
I served ten years in the United States Air Force and am a combat veteran. Service, to me, did not end when I took off the uniform. Today, service means taking care of the people around me. It means helping without being asked, stepping up when I see a need, and holding myself accountable to values that still guide my life: respect, loyalty, integrity, and showing up when someone needs you.
Like many veterans, my transition was not easy.
I live with PTSD, anxiety, depression, a traumatic brain injury, night terrors, and at times, a deep loss of purpose and fear of failure. Before having a service dog, I barely recognized the person staring back at me in the mirror. I isolated. My flashbacks and night terrors were so intense that being in public felt impossible without someone physically beside me. Crowds caused panic attacks. Trust felt dangerous. And the hardest part — I wasn’t being the mother my son deserved. He is my world, and knowing that my struggles were affecting him broke my heart.
Then came Honor.
Honor was not “just” my service dog. She was my secret keeper. My lifeline. The lifeboat in a storm I had been trapped in for far too long. She gave me my smile back. She was the first being I trusted again — and at the time, that was enough.
Honor saw me without judgment. She stood beside me when the world felt unsafe. She helped tame the monsters everyone could see and the ones no one else could. When healing felt exhausting and giving up seemed easier, she was always there — steady, grounded, ready to catch me and keep me moving forward. The loneliness of PTSD is debilitating, and Honor made sure I was never truly alone.
Losing her broke me.
My battle buddy was gone, and the silence she left behind was overwhelming. But through that loss, I came to understand something powerful: Honor had paved the way. She showed me that trust heals. That love heals. And that service dogs are not just helpful — they are life-changing.
When I partnered with another service dog, I saw it clearly. Honor’s work wasn’t finished. And that’s when a quiet dream became a calling: to build an organization in her name, so she could continue helping veterans the way she helped me.
Honor was a shelter dog.
As a trainer, I’ve seen countless dogs sitting in shelters and rescues — written off, misunderstood, labeled as problems. Where others see issues, I see potential. I recognize that feeling, because veterans know it too. Veterans and shelter dogs are alike in so many ways: both are judged, both misunderstood, and both still have so much to give. When you look into their eyes, you can see the willingness to heal, to work, and to find purpose again.
Walking With Honor exists for those second chances.
This organization is my heart and soul. I believe in this program. I believe in the power of properly trained service dogs. And I believe — deeply — that no one should ever feel like they are just a name on a piece of paper or a number in a system.
Here, you are family.
My promise is simple and unwavering:
At Walking With Honor, nobody walks alone.
Together, we are Where Heroes Walk Together.