Wallis Brozman lives with dystonia, an involuntary muscle condition that can suddenly and unexpectedly immobilize her body and permanently impacts her speech.

From his early days at Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit that enhances lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs, it was evident that he was a selfless and eager learner. When they were paired together in 2016 after his completion of nearly 9 months of highly rigorous training at Canine Companions, Mork was already an elite assistance dog able execute over 40 spoken commands. However, because Wallis’ condition can cause sudden loss of movement and has diminished her speech, upon graduation, Mork had to immediately start learning how to communicate non-verbally using American Sign Language.

Now, this special duo uses each sign and command as an opportunity to not only learn about each other, but also learn how to be resilient problem solvers in the face of unexpected challenge. Their latest innovation is a special rope technique for Mork to assist Wallis by tugging her wheelchair up narrow inclines and over the same kinds of bumps that previously caused Wallis to fall!