A blind teenage Paralympic swimmer has opened up about the importance of her guide dog.
Per TODAY, Anastasia Pagonis, who will represent the United States at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo this year, first lost her sight when she was just 14 years old.
But she found an outlet to excel in with swimming and was eventually selected to join the Paralympic team training in Colorado last year.
She was also given an adorable golden Labrador named Radar by the Guide Dog Foundation. The pair trained together for several hours each morning at her home for 10 days before officially teaming up last summer.
Pagonis first shared an image of herself and Radar in a sweet post in August last year.
Alongside the snap, the athlete wrote: "I’m so excited to introduce you all to Radar, my guide dog! I’m so thankful and blessed to have received him as my guide dog from @guidedogfoundation and @ny_islanders."
She also stated that Radar had been named by fans after the legendary Islander coach Al Arbour, and had attended many Olympic events, adding:
"Radar is so smart and amazing I'm so excited to help him adjust from the ice to the pool! Definitely a little athlete himself."
Commenting on her relationship with the animal in a recent interview with the above publication, Pagonis stated: "Having Radar has just given me so much independence and I’m literally in love with him. He's the best thing ever. We're a match made in heaven.
"If I didn’t have Radar, I would have to glide against the wall and bump into a bunch of things and it would honestly be pretty impossible for me to find the elevator without asking for help because I have no eyes. So he's pretty much like my eyes."
Radar has been a hit with the other athletes as well, and Pagonis added that she has been inspired by her amazing dog to win gold in Tokyo for her "golden puppy."