"It was awful, but it was the only choice," Sullivan, 25, said of having to euthanize his companion, whom he described as unusually "happy-go-lucky" for a guide dog.
Blind since birth, Sullivan had relied on Edward's navigation for eight years, "basically my whole adult life," he said. "But you have to keep moving forward."
In a week, Sullivan was to begin a summer internship, working on appeals in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office in Norristown. When District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman learned about his dog's death, she figured the aspiring lawyer would postpone his assignment.
"A loss like that would stop most people in their tracks - and it would be completely understandable," she said. "The fact that he didn't think about changing his plans is a reflection of his character, his strength and determination."
Sullivan has commuted alone to Norristown by train. Everywhere are reminders that "it's difficult to entrust your life to an inanimate object," he said, referring to his cane.
Although he lives near the SEPTA station, the sidewalk along one block of Ridge Avenue has become overgrown with brush, forcing him to cross the busy road and cross back again. "I tried to beat [the weeds] back with my cane so that I could stay on the sidewalk, but that didn't work too well," said Sullivan, whose complaint to City Hall was bounced to SEPTA, which never returned his call.
His resiliency has been fine-tuned since childhood in Deerfield Beach, Fla. But only when pressed does he acknowledge the traumas.
