Jill Dempsey: Kissable Katie is a 15-year-old female Standard Poodle. She was trained by Freedom Guide Dogs. I received her in December 2015 after my family passed away, and I didn’t know how to live alone. I needed help to relearn how to live alone and manage my life. Freedom Guide Dogs has a “Hometown Training” program which brings guide dogs to your home so that you and the dogs can train together to go to the places where you would normally go. (Living in Florida, I do not need a dog trained for subways or elevated platforms.) Dogs are placed with handlers based on various criteria. How fast does the person walk? (You need a dog that isn’t going to pull the handler, but also one that can keep up.) Is the person a brisk walker, or do they take slow, hesitant steps? How tall is the dog and how tall is the handler? Is the dog tall enough for the handler to reach the harness comfortably, but not too big to unbalance the person? Is the dog needed to assist the handler to get to a standing position, or balance the handler? (If so, the dog must be big enough and strong enough to assist with standing and balancing.) What activities will the handler need the dog to perform (pick up dropped keys or a cane, open a handicapped door, turn on a light switch), etc.?
Kissable Katie was perfect for me. She was just the right size, she had the same gait as me, she was a comfortable height for me, she was hypoallergenic and non-shedding, and she has an excellent disposition and temperament. But, the final deciding factor was when Katie was with me at a doctor’s appointment. I was sitting in the office waiting to be seen. Suddenly, Katie barked, ran out, got a nurse, and brought her to me. Three minutes later I had an epileptic seizure, witnessed by the doctor and nurse. The doctor stated that Katie predicted my seizure, and that she was the only dog I should get.
Jill Dempsey: Kissable Katie is my Guide Dog. She is my Medical Alert Seizure Dog. Katie acts as my Therapy Dog when I am anxious or have a panic attack; she sits with me, licks me, and leans into me to provide comfort. “I am here. It’s okay.”
Katie isn’t afraid of my seizures, convulsions, and when I fall to the floor. I don’t have to worry that if I drop her handle or leash she will run away. She can tap my medical life alert button and call for help for me if I am unconscious. Katie was been trained to pull the cord on my front door, unlock the door, and let rescue in after she has called them. If I am out of the house and have a seizure, Katie will bark or go get help, but she comes back to me. She doesn’t run off or leave me abandoned. If I am anxious, she provides pressure, comfort, and stability. She distracts me, to help me focus on her and break the cycle.
Katie has improved my quality of life because she gave me the confidence and ability to live independently. I had been homebound for years, surrounded by family who cared for me and did everything for me. I didn’t leave the house. I didn’t have the ability to go out on my own. I don’t drive. I was afraid to call a taxi or ride share. I didn’t know the bus stops or how to navigate my way around.
Jill Dempsey: Kissable Katie is exceptional. She is the gold standard of Guide Dogs. She is everything special and unique about Poodles, all rolled into one exceptional dog. She has poise, grace, and elegance. Katie is calm and unshakeable. She is a regal princess. (I call her Princess Kate.)
Nothing fazes Katie… not even a blind woman who shoots Cowboy Fastdraw (CFDA) and participates in Western Reenactments at Six Gun Territory! It is because of Katie that I had the confidence to learn new skills, take new classes, and participate in things I never expected to do again. With Kissable Katie at my side, leading the way, I went to the Flagler Gun and Archery Club Action Range Director and CFDA, Marshal Martin Brabham (Smokin Gun), and Andy Mendolia (Mendy), and said. “Hello, my name is Jill. I would like to try Cowboy Fast Draw.” My friend Michelle Bridges had told me about it. Well, they were shocked that the blind woman in front of them with a Guide Dog, dark glasses, and white cane was there for shooting lessons!
CFDA represents the Cowboy way and spirit where your word and handshake are your bond. We use .45 caliber, single-action six revolvers, and we shoot at a target 21 feet away. (This has since changed to 15 feet.) We dress in cowboy and cowgirl attire from the 1860s-1890s. When they showed me how to shoot and explained the rules, they gave me the chance.
And I did it. I shot and hit the target! It gave me a feeling of empowerment. “Yes, I can.” Katie did that for me. Her confidence made it possible. Katie was undeterred by the gunfire. She walked me up to the line, waited until I was situated and in position, and then went and sat down. I would shoot, and afterwards, Katie walked up and got me, and walked me off the line.
Thanks to an audible device that CFDA made for me, I hear a beep at the exact same fraction of a second that a sighted shooter sees a start light. When I hear the beep, I draw and fire. I am not as fast as a sighted shooter, but I am 98 percent accurate. They are shooting to be fast. I am shooting to hit. A slow hit still beats a fast miss.
I won the very first competitive sanctioned match I ever shot in. Where else could a blind woman dress up, shoot at a target, and safely have fun competing in a shooting activity!
Jill Dempsey: In 2017, shooting as Blue Hawk, my cowboy alias, I won the Shootout in the Swamp Florida State Ladies First Place Top Gun. Kissable Katie was at my side, guiding me with the cool, calm, collected confidence I needed. My competitors, Marshall’s daughter and the other women I shot against, were kind, welcoming, and gracious enough to allow the blind woman to participate. No one, especially not me, ever thought I would win! They stopped all the other matches and stood at attention, watching me as I fired the winning shot! My CFDA friends have told me there wasn’t a dry eye in the place!
CFDA is a warm, welcoming family activity. We have shooters as young as eight years old. We have the Shoot for the Stars College Scholarship program that helps to pay for our youth to go to college. This sport builds confidence, camaraderie, and a family that encourages each other to be the best we can be in the cowboy way.
The Cowboy Fast Draw Association made Kissable Katie the official CFDA K-9 #1 and gave Katie her own gun, badge, bandana, and identification card so that she can accompany me to any shoot, in any state. From CFDA we attended Six Gun Territory Wild West Reunions where we’ve participated in old west-style reenactments such as bank robberies, jail breaks, train robberies, and shootouts between outlaws and marshals. We dress up in the old west and pioneer style and recreate the wild west. We shoot performance blanks under strict safety protocols that allow the audience to see the action and how the lawmen run the outlaws out of town.
Kissable Katie made this possible for me because she proved time and time again that she could handle anything I threw at her. If I wanted to try it, Katie found a way for me to safely do it. She wouldn’t walk away, abandon me, or leave me alone, lost, or unable to get home. She had confidence in my ability, and through Katie I developed confidence in my own abilities. Because of Kissable Katie, I now truly believe: “YES, I can! They said it couldn’t be done, so I did it!”
That was just the beginning for me. Katie continued to open up the world for me. Because of Kissable Katie I went back to school to take classes at the Division of Blind Services, Center for the Visually Impaired, People Adjusting to Limited Sight, and the School for the Deaf and Blind.
Katie got me on county busses, ride shares, public transportation, even Greyhound, Amtrak, and on a plane. She gets me off at the correct stops.
Katie taught me that, yes, I can do my own grocery shopping. I don’t need others to go shopping for me or take me. I can go myself. This allowed me to explore all the things that I can safely do with Katie standing at my side. I truly believe that God has blessed me by bringing a guardian angel into my life to guide me in the path God intended. Not the way I thought or expected, but the way God intended.
My father and brother were military and cops. I wanted to be just like my father and brother. They were my heroes. As a young adult, prior to becoming disabled, I went into law enforcement and was a Daytona Beach Police 911 Dispatcher. My disability took that from me. My brain tumor and subsequent brain surgery left me legally blind, permanently physically disabled. I can’t drive. I can’t be a police officer or 911 dispatcher. I spent 35 years mostly homebound, living at home, cared for by family. When they died, I had to learn how to manage on my own, live on my own, and function in society again. No one was left to do things for me. Kissable Katie is the catalyst that changed my life and made it all possible. She gave me the confidence to wonder what else I could do. Katie has saved my life on a number of occasions by pressing the life alert button to get me help. She has helped others in need too when she has detected a medical emergency.
Although Katie was a fully trained Freedom Guide Dog and Medical Alert Dog, I wasn’t fully trained in Service Dog protocols, what we could or couldn’t do, where we could or couldn’t go, and if we had to pay extra fees to bring a Service Dog. At a shooting competition, I met up with a Service Dog training group, (now called Old Glory Service Dogs 4 Veterans and First Responders). They trained me in the laws regarding the use of Service Dogs and access for Service Dogs, as well as laws pertaining to ADA and people with disabilities. That led me to training with them and volunteering for them to bring awareness to the need for Service Dogs.
In 2020, Kissable Katie was guiding me when she pushed me out of the way, saving me from falling into a crater or hole. But in doing so, she broke her leg and three bones. Katie had to be carried to an emergency veterinary clinic. She had to be put in a cast. She had physical therapy, aquatherapy, and occupational therapy so as not to lose her leg. Her recovery took six months, but still she guided me. However, it left her with a limp and arthritis. Katie was then 12 years old. It was almost time for her to retire, but she was still my Guide Dog. She still is my Anxiety/PTSD dog, and my Medical Alert Seizure Dog. But now I needed her to help me train a puppy to be my next Service Dog so that she could be allowed to retire and enjoy a good retirement.
Kissable Katie was tethered to Sir Enoch since he was three months old, until he went to Freedom Guide Dog School. Katie taught Enoch how to guide. She showed him what to do and how to do it. She taught him to look for my seizure symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Katie showed him how to help guide me, how I shoot, and how I get to the regular places I need daily. She became a trainer dog too, and helped to train her replacement. Katie made it possible to go forward with a replacement trained by her, with her approval, and go even further. The confidence that Katie gave me allowed me to broaden my horizons. I knew Katie’s training would see me through.
I applied to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office as a volunteer Citizen Observer Patrol (C.O.P.). No, I still can’t drive a car, but I can answer phones, dispatch units, get copies of reports, and do fingerprints or background checks. I volunteer at FCSO C.O.P. District 2 and provide administrative skills free of charge to the county, which allows law enforcement to stay on the roads and deal with law enforcement issues. I became a C.O.P. dispatcher to give back to the community that gave me so much, and many volunteers are retired police, fire, military, and first responders. C.O.P. helped to save the county five million dollars last year by volunteering our time.
I attended the FCSO Citizen’s Academy and became a Citizen’s Academy alumni. I help to represent the Sheriff’s office by assisting the Community Engagement Office with festivals and events in our community. I then attended the FEMA Emergency Operations C.E.R.T (Community Emergency Response Team) where I learned basic first aid, fire suppression, and basic search and rescue. I help to volunteer during disasters and community emergencies. I also volunteer with Flagler County Volunteer Services and I am on the Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Board and I’m Flagler County Transportation’s disabled person advocate. I am not making a difference by doing things the way I thought I would, but Kissable Katie has helped me to do them the way God intended for me to make a difference.
Jill Dempsey: There is a great need for more Service Dogs. It can take 2-3 years to train a Service Dog and it costs $30,000 to $50,000 to train a Service Dog for one individual. There is a shortage of properly trained Service Dogs, Guide Dogs, Medical Alert Dogs, and Therapy Dogs, especially for the blind, veterans, first responders, and those with disabilities. We need breeders to donate puppies to be trained as Service Dogs. We need families to foster and socialize puppies. We need Service Dog trainers. We need people to transport dogs, and we need trainers to travel to bring dogs to their new handlers and train them to work together as a bonded pair.
Kissable Katie was trained by Freedom Guide Dogs. They changed my life when they brought Katie into my life. Freedom Guide Dogs motto is: “Another Pair of Eyes for the Blind to See.”
Please donate to Freedom Guide Dogs.
The agencies that have helped Kissable Katie train Sir Enoch are Freedom Guide Dogs, Lead Me and I Will Follow, Busch’s Service Dogs, Old Glory Service Dogs 4 Veterans and First Responders, and Pop Smoke K-9 for Veterans. These organizations provide a free dog, free training, and free equipment like harnesses, vests, and adaptive gear to Service Dogs, to help make a difference and change a life for someone who is struggling with blindness or disabilities.
Trust me, Kissable Katie not only saved my life but my quality of life as well, and my capacity to live life to the fullest with her calm confident, regal, demeanor that exudes confidence and capability. Kissable Katie has touched the lives of all who have known her.
