Tulsa Actress And Her Service Dog Nominated For National Scholarship

A local actress has been nominated to compete in a national scholarship competition which could take her to the stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Sarah Wheaton has been successful despite having a disability.

Sarah was part of Tulsa Community College's production of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona.  The dog is Sarah's actual service dog Sage. Sage has a part too. She plays a dog, good type casting.

Three years ago Sarah was diagnosed with narcolepsy, she just drops off to sleep, at random times in random places.  

So, Sarah got Sage, trained by a local trainer, to help her, so she could go to college and live her life as normally as possible.  

Sarah and Sage are inseparable.

"She's always with me. She will wake me up when I fall asleep, which is no small task," said Sarah Wheaton.

If Sarah feels anxious or panicked, Sage senses that too and goes to work.  Alright, so Sarah has always had dreams of being an actress, but you can imagine the difficulty.  

The play "Two Gentlemen of Verona" came along, a person with a dog, well...

"That made all the difference in the world," said Sarah.

And, she did so well, she was nominated to participate in the Irene Ryan National Scholarship competition which could land her on the stage at the Kennedy Center.  Lots and lots of work ahead, but they'll get through that together too.

The regional competition for the Irene Ryan Scholarship comes up in early March in Texas.  We'll let you know how Sarah does.