It was a Mayday Appeal with a difference – the day that one Galway teenager’s long-held dream of having her own Assistance dog became a reality. And Lucy Mac Connell hasn’t looked back since.

Lucy, a fifth year student in Salerno, lives in Spiddal. She has a rare bone condition called Osteogenesis Imperfects Type 3 and as a result she is of short stature, with fragile bones and uses a powered wheelchair.

But she also has the heart of a lion and doesn’t let any impediments get in her way.

That said, given her stature, she can find crowded locations such as shopping centres and city streets quite overwhelming, according to her mum Niamh O’Brien, a GP at the Mervue Health Centre.

Which is where Polly the poodle comes into the picture.

“After many years of dreaming about having her own Assistance dog, Lucy met Polly for the first time on May 1 at the Dogs for the Disabled house in Togher in Cork,” says Niamh.

“They hit it off straight away; Polly’s soft, curly coat and her lovely tall frame providing an immediate comforting presence at Lucy’s side.

“We couldn’t wait to welcome Polly to our home in Connemara. We’ll never forget the day she arrived in Spiddal a couple of weeks later, Polly bounced out of the DFD van to explore her new surroundings.

“Aoife, her trainer, travelled all the way to Galway with her and returned to us soon after to provide further training to Lucy and Polly, both at home and in our locality,” she adds.

From the very start, Polly has helped Lucy to feel more visible and confident when navigating through a crowd.

And now Lucy has been named the Galway County Champion for Dogs for the Disabled after their recently launched fundraising campaign.

Caption: Orla MacConnell and special guests Lucy MacConnell, Galway County Champion for Dogs for the Disabled, with her assistance dog, Polly pictured at the coffee morning fundraiser supporting Dogs for the Disabled, hosted by Galway Family Doctors, Mervue. Photo Martina Regan

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