04/18/2025
KAYLAS STORY-
I was sexually abused for 10 years. When I was 17 Due to pure exhaustion and depression My car ran off a road going 75 In my cruise control causing my car to total and throwing me out in a field to die. I was found and Crawling back to my car with multiple fractures in my spine as well as a concussion. It took 2 years of back braces, psychical therapy, and pain medication. I have OCD and high anxiety levels which makes my heart beat faster and gives me migraines constantly. Because I am always consumed by my anxious, and overbearing OCD tendies I don’t pay attention to my surroundings very well which makes me more prone to hurting myself. I may “ Look “ Fine on the outside , But i’ve seen hell and still try to have a smile on my face. I have endured more in 21 years so most have in their entire life. So As summer comes and you see me and my dog in public, before you question how “ disabled “ I am , Please note that not every disability is visible.
SERVICE DOGS -
I just wanted to mention some things as I continue to train and further kleo’s knowledge. Kleo is a service dog, That means legally she can go anywhere and everywhere with me without exceptions. This does not mean though, That I need her 24/7. A common misconception is that people with service dogs need that service at all times, Which if the dog is alerting to a condition like diabetes, cardiac alert, high blood pressure, etc , then yes the dog is needed for that alert so the individual doesn’t need a medical device to do it for them. I have been training kleo for over 2 years now and have re-evaluated what I wanted to label her for a long time. Since she is 90 percent done with her training her official label is “ Psychiatric and PTSD Alert dog “. This is because all of the tasks she knows, as well as her being with me in general provides help to me because of my past. I do not need her all the time but for the first 2 years of her life she was never away from me for more than 24 hours. The first seperation between us for longer than that was so awful for both of us. She is always close by me. She needs me just as much as I need her. We are a “ service dog team “.
