It was a rainy day with snow on the ground when Emily and her fiancé drove to West Virginia to pick up Evie – a black lab puppy.
Having grown up with several dogs, Emily knows the responsibility and joys that come with having a pet.
"I've always loved animals, especially dogs," Emily said.
Emily has been involved with the K-9 training barn at Hope Center Indy since it was founded.
"I was a resident at Grace House when I heard them talking about the K-9 barn," Emily said. "I immediately expressed an interest in being involved."
When the K-9 team received news there would be a puppy named Layla arriving from Utah to be trained in electronic scent detection, they asked Emily if she would be willing to care for the puppy for the first year. Emily immediately said yes, and had a strong bond with Layla from the start.
While the program considered keeping Layla to breed more dogs for the K-9 Program, Layla is currently thriving with a unit in Florida. Keep up with Layla on Instagram!
It was hard for Emily and her family to say goodbye to Layla, but they're extremely proud of the work she's doing.
Since then, they've welcomed Evie into their lives. Evie's puppies will be trained in electronic scent detection at the Hope Center Indy K-9 barn to help investigators continue the fight against sex trafficking.
"Evie has this sweetness about her," Emily said. "She gets excited with new people, so we've been working with her on not jumping on new people. She loves to cuddle. My fiancé works at home, and she'll lay by his feet all day."
To help Emily and her family care for Evie, Hope Center Indy is asking for donations of
"Planning a wedding and caring for Evie are both financially stressful, but we wouldn't have it any other way," Emily said.
"We're so grateful for the support of the Hope Center Indy community. The pet supplies will be a huge blessing."
Donations can be sent using Amazon or dropped off at the Hope Center through the Redefined Hope Boutique entrance.