Kimberly and service dog, Dawson
To most, Kimberly Carnevale appears to be healthy, so people often wonder when they see her accompanied by her service dog in public. “Most people assume that I am training the dog for someone else, and are very surprised to learn that the dog assists me.” Kimberly is a person with multiple disabilities, which are, for the most part, invisible. She sustained a traumatic brain injury in 1998, just short of her lifetime goal of securing a spot on the United States Equestrian team. This former athlete was forced to relearn what most take for granted such as reading, writing, walking and talking. Sometime later she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Today, Kimberly relies upon her service dog, Dawson (a lovely Collie), and her service dog in training, Nadja (a beautiful, black German Shepherd) for her safety and independence. The dogs have been specially selected and rigorously trained to perform tasks such as object retrieval, turn on/off lights, help unload the dryer, and pull the laundry basket to Kimberly’s folding station, alert to impending seizure events, help to calm anxiety that often occurs to Kimberly in busy places; and much more.
“Many people are unaware that there are dogs trained to assist people with a wide-range of disabilities,”
Kimberly knows about the effects of access denial first hand. After being partnered with her first service dog, Dewey, in 1998, she encountered numerous denials that offended, and often threatened her. Kimberly's then, slurred, dyslexic speech made it difficult for her to relate why the dog was needed; and so, she would often return back home.
Kimberly learned that access denial was a widespread problem throughout the service dog community, and decided to do something about it. “I realized that the common denominator in all access denials was lack of education. I saw myself going back to all the places that had denied me access and offer to speak to their staff and demonstrate my dog’s tasks. I saw myself going to schools, churches and other places in order to spread my message about the importance of service dogs, and teach people the proper way to greet a working dog. I saw myself educating about the benefits partnered patients gain from service dogs, how they are selected/trained, and give insight into what life is like for a partnered team; in short, I saw Canine and Abled, Inc.” Carnevale speaks of the nonprofit program she founded in the beginning of 1999. This award-winning program has been featured on TV, in magazines, and in Kimberly’s first book, “Canine and Abled, Taking The Dis Out of Disabled.”
“This program has been such a blessing; not only to the service dog teams we’ve opened doors for, but for me on a personal level. It gets me out of bed on the days that I want to just hide; it gives me purpose and a sense of accomplishment. My speech was recovered through my presentations, and my mission made me work even harder at regaining my reading/writing skills. Today I’m often booked to share my story as a motivational speaker. These opportunities gave me a much-needed new career to support my daughter and myself. Proof positive that tragedy can be turned into triumph!”
The Canine and Abled program is available nationwide and will benefit any group. For more information, please log onto: www.CanineAndAbled.com .
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
