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By Rachael O'Connor
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Hearts have melted at the moment a woman met her new guide dog, and the sheer joy they immediately had for one another.
Jay Walker, 22, a college student from Missouri, told Newsweek she became blind at the age of 15 due to a "rare swelling condition" that has yet to be officially diagnosed.
Walker is ambitious, currently undergoing a bachelor's degree with plans for a master's in the future, along with dreams to mentor blind and visually impaired youth struggling with recent vision loss.
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When it comes to the day-to-day however, there are things Walker struggles with—and she was the perfect candidate for a guide dog, a service animal specially trained to help those with vision loss.
But after getting her first guide dog, she said it quickly became apparent that the dog was "not prepared to be a guide dog, and misbehaved frequently," leaving Walker on her own again.
"I considered never reapplying for a dog again because I thought I was cursed, that I was bad at 'being blind,'" Walker said*—*until she learned about charity Guide Dogs for the Blind, and two years later, decided she was ready to try again.
It was then she was introduced to her new guide dog: Vinny, a two-and-a-half-year-old Labrador retriever. As she said: "I am his second handler. His first handler struggled with Vinny's slower pace and decided to reissue him back into training.
"He finished his assessments just in time for my class, and is almost half a year, if not a full year, older than the other dogs in my class."
But for Walker, he has been the perfect dog—and their friendship began with the perfect first meeting, as proven in a video shared to Walker's TikTok account @perfect.specimen on July 30.
In the video, Walker sits at a table as a woman introduces her to her "new boy," Vinny.
And Vinny appears even more excited to meet Walker than she does him, as he wags his tail so hard his entire body moves with him, and he sneezes happily and sniffs at his new handler.
Walker can already tell that he's "so happy," and he continues moving around excitedly, only stopping momentarily as she attaches her leash to him.
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She said that it "felt completely unreal when he wiggled his way over to me," and felt she and Vinny had an instant "connection."
"I was the last in my group to get my dog, as my room was the last one in the hallway. I heard each person get their dogs and explode with happiness, and I was so eagerly waiting for my turn," she said—and Vinny most certainly didn't disappoint.
"After our first route together I broke down in sobs with my trainer. It was a feeling I haven't had in years: freedom," she said. "He guided me perfectly, never missed a step, and was simply the hope I'd been waiting to find.
"I cannot express the feeling that went through my entire body on our first route. It was like the lights had been turned back on after eight long years in the dark."
The duo's first meeting, and Vinny's sheer delight at getting to meet Walker, led Walker's video to go viral, with more than 800,000 views and 104,000 likes since being posted on July 30.
And TikTok users flocked to the video to share their love, one joking: "Jay I don't wanna alarm you but Vinny is extremely close to FLYING AWAY when happy," and another adding: "Not to make assumptions based on a short video, but I really think that Vinny likes you."
One pointed out the "full body wiggles," as one told Walker: "The way he loved you INSTANTLY! He might be your Soul Dog."
And another described Vinny as saying: "Did you know I trained my whole lie for this? Did you know we were meant to be best friends forever?"
Walker said that "the well wishes and the outpouring of love and support" has been "remarkable. I'm so happy Vinny made thousands of people smile the way that he makes me every day."
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Vinny is not only an excellent guide dog, but also a general friend and companion, she said. "When he's on harness, he works like a professional and lets barely anything bother him, but as soon as that harness comes off he's back to my silly, charming, happy guy."
"This dog has absolutely no idea how much he has and is going to change my life. Day to day, he'll help me with the basics: navigation, orientation, getting to and from, and the list goes on, but aside from that he is going to help me become the person I have been grasping at ever since I lost my sight and became blind."
Explaining that she was "outspoken, spontaneous" before becoming blind, but had become "solitary and confined, soft spoken and anxiously polite," in just a few short weeks since having Vinny she now has "a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose. I'm not just the blind girl in my own mind anymore, I am so, so much more than that now."
He is even helping with her swelling disease, detecting a swell up to an hour before it occurs internally or on her body, with Walker describing him as her "superhero."
And, praising Guide Dogs for the Blind, she said she will support them "with everything have until the day I pass," calling those she has met there "communicative and honest, reassuring and polite," and her trainer "remarkable."
"The difference a guide dog can make in someone's life is exceptional, and it cannot be understated just how much Vinny is going to change my world for the better. He is my rock, my buddy, and my partner. I can never thank GDB enough for blessing me with him, and I am so excited to bring him into my world."
Christine Benninger, president and CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind, told Newsweek: "Our process for matching guide dogs with clients is part art and part science, so we are delighted but not surprised that Jay and Vinny are hitting it off.
"We do home interviews with all our clients to learn about their lifestyles, their personalities, the routes they take, their ideal walking speed, and various other factors, and then review the traits and personalities of our highly trained dogs to create the most ideal match possible."
She added: "We hope that Vinny will help Jay move more safely and confidently through the world for many years to come, and we are happy to have Jay join our wonderful GDB alumni community."
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