From their exciting adventures, to just hanging around the house, it’s definitely safe to say this Kat and dog are attached at the hip.
"I'm just so excited to have him and I know that when I have him, I'm safe," Kat Leibbrandt said.
- Child Life Specialist shares life saving bond with service dog
- Kat Leibbrandt suffers from a neuromuscular auto immune disease
- Her service dog, Falco, detects her symptoms
Kat Leibbrandt’s dog, Falco, goes way beyond the call for comfort. He is her service dog. She is a Child Life Specialist at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. As Kat goes door to door making hospital stays a little less scary for pediatric patients, Falco is by her side making sure she doesn’t get sick.
"I often have weakness in my legs or my arms, I'll get a droopy eyelid and it tends to make me fall over," Leibbrandt said.
Leibbrandt suffers from a neuromuscular auto immune disease that can make work and daily activities difficult. Falco can detect her symptoms, even before she does.
"He can actually smell the chemistry of my body changing before it even happens so I can keep doing what I'm doing and get ahead of the symptoms," Leibbrandt said.
While Kat tends to patients, Falco watches over her. He was initially training to be a bomb squad dog but just couldn’t pass the tests. Kat thinks it’s because they were destined to find each other.
"He just could not pass bomb school but I think he definitely had a higher purpose. It was almost like we were ordained to be together," Leibbrandt said.
The two have only been together about six months but Kat said she can’t imagine life before him. She said even though patients can’t interact with Falco while he’s on duty, he tends to brighten their days just by being there.