Posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008
Stacy Lannert has been incarcerated since she was eighteen. Stacy murdered her father and is serving life without parole. “He molested me and I shot him the same night he molested my sixteen-year-old little sister,” she says. “Now fourteen years later, my case is attracting a lot of attention.”
Stacy has given several interviews detailing various aspects of her case, and is hopeful that her sentence will be reduced, making her eligible for parole and freedom.” I am so ashamed of what I have done and what I have been through, but I cannot change it, even though I would give every ounce of my being to do so,” she says.
Her enthusiasm about the CHAMP Program (C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs Inc.) is apparent. “I need strength, and where better to get it than in others? No matter what else I have done or will do in my life, I know I am a better person because of this program. It has helped me find strength, courage, dedication, failure and success, plus forgiveness and unconditional love. My relationship with my mother–way too complicated for words, is now peaceful and harmonious.”
When asked about the various dogs she has trained and how each had affected her, Stacy replied, “Each of the dogs I have trained has changed me.
“Tory taught me how to love again; but he also taught me how to give.
“Nelson taught me how to survive and how sometimes it’s ok to not be perfect-that we can be loved, faults and all. Nelson was attacked his first day in a puppy foster home; his skull was crushed and his jaw was broken. They told us he was going to die. I had loved him and claimed him from the moment I first laid eyes on him. Not only did he survive, but he also thrived. He could do no wrong in my eyes.
“Gi Gi taught me hope. She was so beautiful and charming.
“Thor taught me patience. He is a Golden Retriever and silly. He was so much fun but required lots of discipline. He taught me souls don’t always behave exactly the way you want them to; but that an open heart and a willingness to love surpasses even the biggest trespass.”
And Razzle is the black lab who taught Stacy to accept everyone for who he or she is, not their color or their looks. Stacy had been partial to yellow labs because of a previous experience. Razzle erased those prejudices with a few wags of a black tail.
