How one dog changed everything.

Some stories don’t start with a business plan or a nonprofit application.

They start with survival.

Honor came into my life at a time when I didn’t yet have the words for what I was carrying. I had served ten years in the United States Air Force. I had done my job. I had pushed through. And like so many veterans, I came home carrying invisible wounds—things you can’t explain easily, things you don’t always recognize until they begin to take over your life.

Honor wasn’t meant to “save” me. She was just a dog. But somehow, she became the reason I stayed.

She grounded me when my mind wouldn’t slow down. She gave me purpose on the days I struggled to find my own. When the world felt overwhelming, Honor was constant—steady, loyal, present. She didn’t ask me to explain myself. She didn’t need me to be okay. She simply walked beside me.

And in doing so, she taught me something powerful:

Healing doesn’t always come from being fixed. Sometimes it comes from being accompanied.

As Honor and I navigated life together, I began to see what a well-trained, well-matched dog could do—not just for me, but for other veterans who were hurting quietly, just trying to make it through the day. I also saw something else that stayed with me: the number of incredible dogs sitting in shelters, overlooked, waiting for a chance to matter.

That’s where the idea began.

Not all at once. Not confidently. But persistently.

For a long time, Walking With Honor lived only in my heart. I talked myself out of it more times than I can count. I told myself I wasn’t ready. That I wasn’t capable. That it was safer to wait for “someday.”

But someday kept passing.

Eventually, I realized the truth: I wasn’t waiting for the right time—I was waiting to believe in myself.

Going back to school, committing to formal education in animal-assisted interventions, and revisiting everything I had learned through lived experience helped me see what Honor had already shown me. This wasn’t just a dream. It was a responsibility.

Honor passed away, but her work didn’t end with her life.

Walking With Honor exists because of her legacy.

This organization was created to train shelter dogs to become service dogs for veterans who need them most—not as a charity model built on pity, but as a partnership built on dignity, respect, and accountability. We believe in doing this the right way: ethical training, thoughtful placement, and unwavering commitment to both ends of the leash.

We believe in second chances. For dogs. For veterans. For healing.

Walking With Honor is not just about service dogs. It’s about restoring independence. It’s about rebuilding trust. It’s about making sure no veteran has to navigate their hardest days alone.

Honor walked beside me when I needed her most.

Now, through this mission, her legacy walks beside every veteran and every dog we serve.

Thank you for being here at the beginning of our journey. This is just the first step—but it’s one taken with purpose, heart, and honor.

— Faith Harris

Founder, Walking With Honor