The Little Girl Who Decided She Could

Written By: Emily DeAngelo
Photos by: Clicking to Capture with Annie Miller

All five of my children, ages 7 down to 2, got to experience the excitement of the dog show at Durham Kennel Club’s Pee Wee Show September 5th, but for one of my little girls, that day meant something much bigger than a ribbon.

Our sweet little miracle, Gigi, is 6 years old and has faced more challenges in her short life than most people will ever know. She has several diagnoses, including extensive developmental delays and hypotonia. Because of this, she wasn’t able to learn to walk until she was 4 years old. Even now, she needs assistance when walking and cannot safely navigate uneven surfaces without her SMO leg braces and someone beside her.

But if you know her, you know that she has never been particularly interested in letting a diagnosis tell her what she can or cannot do.

She has grown up watching Mom show Golden Retrievers, and she has always been fascinated by it. About a year ago, she looked at me and said, “Momma, I want to do what you do.”

And so began Operation: Pee Wee Show.

For the entire year, Gigi worked toward that goal. She practiced walking in circles. She practiced walking faster. She practiced balancing. She practiced holding a dog in one hand while keeping herself balanced with the other, as someone walked beside her . She worked on her gross motor skills during her in-home physical therapy 2–3 times a week, and then practiced those skills some more.

It wasn’t easy.

Walking around a ring might look like a simple thing to most people, but for her, every step represented hours and hours of work.

Then September 5th came.

She picked out her “lucky” dress, gave herself a little pep talk, and walked into that ring with the biggest smile on her face.

Gigi was assisted by Louis, a 9-year-old Golden Retriever bred by Julie Cooke, Golden Rose Kennel and owned by Kate Mullally. And Louis was absolutely wonderful with her. He took his time, stayed right beside her, and seemed to understand exactly what she needed.

Isn’t it incredible what dogs seem to know about us?

Together, they made their way around that ring, one step at a time.

And when she finished, she earned her ribbon!

Weeks later, she is still talking about it.

She is still practicing every single day. And she has told both Mom and Dad that she can do whatever she works hard enough to do.

Honestly, she’s right. What an important lesson for us all.

When people ask her now what she likes to do, she proudly says:

“I show my dogs. And that’s what I’ll do when I grow up.”

And if you know our girl, you know there is absolutely no talking her out of it!

For most children, a Pee Wee show might be a fun morning at a dog show.

For her, it was a year-long goal, countless hours of practice, a whole lot of determination, one very special Golden Retriever, and a little girl proving to herself that she belongs in that ring too.

Gigi may need a little extra help getting around the ring. But she has never needed anyone to convince her that she belongs there.

We couldn’t be prouder of our little girl.

One step. One circle. One ribbon. One very big dream.

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=371448

Posted by Liz on Sep 29 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.