58-year-old Floridian Jill Dempsey is an inspirational force of nature. She leads a fast-paced life and is heavily involved in giving back to her local community. Looking at her circumstances now, it鈥檚 hard to believe that for almost 30 years, Dempsey, who is legally blind, was almost completely housebound and entirely reliant on the support of her family. However, everything changed when Dempsey was introduced to Standard Poodle 鈥淜issable Katie,鈥� her medical alert and seeing-eye dog.
Now almost 15 years old, Kissable Katie was the driving force behind Dempsey鈥檚 newfound independence, boosting her confidence and becoming her lifeline to the outside world. Together, they have achieved some incredible milestones. Dempsey couldn鈥檛 be more thrilled that now, in her retirement, Kissable Katie鈥檚 endeavors have earned her the 2024 AKC Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) in the Service Dog category.
Life Before Kissable Katie Was Small
21-year-old Dempsey was newly married, expecting her first child and working as a 911 dispatcher with the Daytona Beach Police Department. Her life as she knew it was turned upside down when doctors discovered she had a brain tumor requiring emergency surgery. 鈥淭he surgery left me legally blind, and I had to learn to do things all over again,鈥� she says. She needed long-term care and a wheelchair as she was having seizures and had to learn to walk and talk again.
Since Dempsey鈥檚 parents separated when she was a teenager, she went to live with her mother, a pediatric nurse based in Flager County. At the same time, her father regularly visited from his home in Virginia and provided additional financial support for her care. Dempsey鈥檚 mother passed unexpectedly in February 2014, and her father, who passed away in August 2015, had Parkinson鈥檚 and cancer. While her brother initially took over guardianship duties, Dempsey realized she needed to be proactive if she didn鈥檛 want to go into assisted living. She started applying to guide dog agencies and was put on some wait lists.
A Match Made in Heaven
At the end of 2014, Dempsey started working with and explained to them that she wouldn鈥檛 manage on her own. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to go to the store. I don鈥檛 know how to get on the bus. I don鈥檛 know where the bank is,鈥� she says. They started orientation and mobility training while she was waiting to be paired with a dog.
In December 2015, Freedom Guide Dogs offered Dempsey the opportunity to work with 3-year-old Kissable Katie. Eric Loori, co-founder and CEO of the non-profit organization, wasn鈥檛 sure if the pairing would work at first. He had concerns about highly intelligent Poodles being aloof and getting bored with mundane tasks. However, Dempsey says that she and Katie were an instant match.
Not only was Katie exemplary in her guide dog training, but she also proved to be a natural medical alert dog. One day, while the pair were still training together, Dempsey was visiting the Doctor. 鈥淜atie started barking and went to get a nurse. Three minutes later, I had an epileptic seizure,鈥� Dempsey says. Katie received training to call 911 if Dempsey has a seizure by pressing a medical alert button. She can also let emergency services into the house when they arrive.
Freedom Guide Dogs Head Trainer, John Byfield, who brought Katie to Florida, provided the pair with a further six months of training together. By the end of the training period, Dempsey had complete confidence in her partner. Katie knows over 100 commands and received training in 鈥榠ntelligent disobedience鈥�. 鈥淚f I tell her to cross the street, and there鈥檚 an electric vehicle which cannot be heard, and Katie sees or senses it, she will disobey me and block in front of me to stop me from crossing,鈥� Dempsey explains.
Opening Doors and Gaining Confidence
Once the two became an official pairing, Dempsey鈥檚 world truly opened up for her. 鈥淚 was afraid to leave the house, afraid to go do things in case I got lost, in case I had a seizure, in case I made a fool of myself,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was Katie who gave me the courage to do the things I wanted to do.鈥�
Dempsey started attending a school for blind and deaf students. They worked with her and Kissable Katie together. 鈥淭hey taught me about adaptive technology, screen readers, and appliances that tell you how to turn on your oven, thermostat, or washer/dryer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 needed help with basic things; I didn鈥檛 know how to operate anything.鈥�
Katie also took Dempsey to the hospital for treatments. While there, Dempsey signed up for backyard birding classes with the Flagler Audubon Society to learn how to identify different species by sound. Here, she met Michelle Bridges, who introduced Dempsey and Katie to another world-widening opportunity.
Fun and First-Places at Shooting Competitions and Western Reenactments
In 2016, Bridges took Dempsey to the Flagler Gun Club to try Cowboy Fast Draw Association (CFDA) shooting. Without Katie, Dempsey says she would never have had the confidence to pursue this passion. 鈥淓nvision this blind lady with dark glasses, a white cane, and a seeing-eye dog leading her into a gun club,鈥� she says. The club Marshal and Deputy didn鈥檛 know what to make of them both initially.
With the help of an audible device to let her know when to shoot, the patience of her CFDA family and Katie by her side, Dempsey won the 2017 Florida State Shootout in the Swamp鈥� the first sanctioned match she took part in鈥攁nd she continues to climb the CFDA rankings.
Katie wasn鈥檛 phased by the gunfire or having to wear ear and eye protection on the range, and the club have embraced Dempsey鈥檚 service dogs as part of the team. When Katie was on the job, she would walk Dempsey up to the line, position her correctly, and then sit patiently while Dempsey was shooting.
As a result of their CFDA involvement, Katie and Dempsey also began attending Western reenactment events at Six Gun Territory. Dempsey dresses in the Old West style and participates in shootouts, and Katie dresses to match. She has her own Marshal鈥檚 badge, cowboy hat, spurs, holster, and a model replica of Dempsey鈥檚 Ruger Vaquero revolver.
Handing Over the Reins to the Younger Generation
Several years ago, while Dempsey was out in her yard, Kissable Katie pushed her out of the way to prevent her from going down a hole. Her heroics resulted in her breaking her leg in three places. Dempsey did everything to promote the best recovery, including hydrotherapy, physical therapy and heat, ice, and canine massage therapy. However, the accident left her with a limp and arthritis. That, combined with her getting on in years, meant she started to slow down. It was more of a struggle to get up high steps, such as the ones on the buses she and Dempsey rely on to take them to their volunteer activities and events.
Dempsey knew it was time to plan for Katie鈥檚 well-deserved retirement and reapplied to Freedom Guide Dogs. Again, she was placed on a waiting list, with an approximate two to three-year wait. Kim McLane, a friend and Poodle breeder, heard about the situation. She put Dempsey in touch with the Piverotti family, who had a 3-month-old purebred Poodle service dog in training they couldn鈥檛 keep. They generously donated the puppy, named 鈥淪ir Enoch,鈥� to Dempsey in April 2021.
Training Sir Enoch was a steep learning curve. 鈥淲orking with a 3-month-old boy puppy is nothing like having a fully trained 4-year-old female dog,鈥� Dempsey says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think any one of us would survive.鈥�
However, Katie stepped up to the plate again, becoming the most patient pre-trainer and mentor to Sir Enoch. From day one, he never left Katie鈥檚 side. 鈥淗e thought of her as a mother or a big sister,鈥� Dempsey says. 鈥淗e copied every move she made and had to sit as close to on top of her as possible.鈥�
Katie was no pushover鈥擠empsey describes her as sassy. 鈥淥ne of the first things she did when I got him was to open the door and lead him down the driveway, leave him there, and close the door,鈥� she says. However, they now have an incredibly close bond. 鈥淭hey have to lie touching each other, in the bed, in the crate, wherever they are. He defers to Katie,鈥� Dempsey says
With Katie there to keep him right and after completing 1800 hours of training, Sir Enoch is now a fully certified guide dog through the AKC and Freedom Guide Dog programs and is a trained medical alert dog.
An Unstoppable Band of Volunteers
Dempsey loved her previous dispatching job and missed being part of the local law enforcement community. In 2022, Dempsey approached the Flagler County Sheriff鈥檚 Office about programs offered by their department. 鈥淚 said, 鈥業 want to give it a try, but I鈥檓 blind, disabled, not able to drive, or see the computer screen properly. Is there something I can do?'鈥�
Sheriff Rick Staly suggested she could train as an FCSO Citizen Observer Patrol (COP). This involves answering non-emergency calls and doing things like fingerprinting, background checks, and getting copies of reports. When the department saw how competently Katie guided and supported Dempsey, they gave her a chance. 鈥淲ith Katie at my side in case I had a seizure, got lost, confused, or panicked, I had the confidence to take the COP classes and test,鈥� Dempsey says.
While Citizen Observer Patrols are only required to volunteer four hours a month, Dempsey and Sir Enoch did over 600 hours together last year, and Dempsey won the presidential gold medal for making a positive impact in her community. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud that Katie was able to be there with me to receive the award,鈥� she adds.
A Well-Deserved Retirement
In her official retirement, Kissable Katie enjoys being a lady of leisure. 鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 like to get up before 10 in the morning and takes herself to bed around six at night,鈥� Dempsey says. She gets to stay at home and relax now that Sir Enoch has taken over the work duties. This now also includes public speaking to raise awareness of veteran service dogs and service dogs for the disabled groups, along with the many other activities Katie helped introduce Dempsey to.
Dempsey says that Sir Enoch is her second guardian angel, ensuring she can continue to lead a full life. However, she will forever be profoundly grateful to Kissable Katie. She recognizes that without Katie, she would never have had the confidence to go out and embrace life the way she has. 鈥淚t is because of her that I鈥檓 not trapped in my home, dependent on others, or in assisted living,鈥� she says.
鈥淪he has been my guide dog, medical alert dog, therapy dog, and a trainer dog,鈥� Dempsey says. 鈥淪he saved my life, she has called rescue for me, she has gotten me help when I鈥檝e been unconscious, and I couldn鈥檛 ask for a better guardian angel, always at my side.鈥�
You won’t want to miss seeing these hero dogs in action.聽Catch the 2024 AKC Heroes: Awards for Canine Excellence Show on ESPN2 on December 15 at 6pm ET.