It would be unfair to say that Cynthia Daniello is confined in a wheelchair; nothing has ever confined Cynthia. She is a friend and hero of mine, a living testament to the courage and the power of love and the beauty of dog love.

Cynthia uses a wheelchair to get around and is in her 80s.

She understands the hypocrisy of people who call themselves animal rescuers but will not permit people with low incomes and older people, or working people and people with disabilities to adopt any of the millions of dogs languishing in animal shelters and the homes of animal rescuers.

Edgar was one of those dogs.

He is completely deaf and was restless and grumpy when Cythina found him in an animal shelter.

Nobody knew he was deaf until she got him home.

Rather than return him, she set out to learn how to communicate with deaf animals, and the rest is history. Edgar has an excellent home, and she has a beautiful and loving dog.

Most rescue groups wouldn’t consider letting a disabled person in their 80s adopt a dog, but Cynthia is tough and determined.  She fought for Edgar.

Theirs is one of the best love stories I’ve ever heard about; Cynthia is a very special person, she got the dogs she needs, and Edgar got the human he needs.

Mostly, they communicate by her tapping the floor with a walking stick and making eye contact.

Cynthia, who I met while doing some radio shows, was recently hospitalized for pneumonia.

She refused to go to the hospital because she wasn’t sure who would care for Edgar. The two are inseparable. Her son came to take care of him after a neighbor saw how sick Cynthia was and called an ambulance.

Last week, after weeks in the hospital,  the two were reunited and very happy.  Edgar resumed his position by her desk so he can keep an eye on Cynthia.

This is the note she sent to me this morning: