From Rescue to Lifeline: Calypso's Story
When Abbi rescued a three and a half month-old mixed-breed pup named Calypso, she trained her the way she'd trained every dog before — using multiple language and a modified version of American sign language. It made communication with Calypso a breeze when she was on a call or otherwise unable to speak a command. Calypso was social, responsive, and settling in well. Abbi had no idea yet that she'd eventually train her to become her service dog.
The Day Everything Changed
Then, less than a year after bringing Calypso home, everything changed. In August 2024, Abbi was set on fire and hospitalized for eight weeks. Adding to the challenge, she moved to a new home just days after the incident, coming back to Calypso in a walker, unable to walk on her own, with nurses and therapists in and out of the house constantly. As Abbi puts it, Calypso "came back to a new version of me. I look different. I smell different. I'm in a walker because I couldn't walk on my own."
She was telling me about it — that my blood pressure was dropping before I knew that was even what was happening.
A Surprising Discovery
Once Abbi was finally able to walk again and the constant flow of doctors and home health visits started to taper off, it was just her and Calypso — alone together, rebonding, with Abbi training with her whenever she could.
It was in that quieter stretch that something remarkable surfaced: Calypso began alerting to blood pressure drops before Abbi's own doctors caught them. "We didn't quite realize that was what has happening, but I was passing out, or I would get really really dizzy," Abbi explains.
"She was telling me about it," Abbi says, "that my blood pressure was dropping before I knew that was even what was happening."
The culprit turned out to be a medication prescribed for night terrors brought on by the trauma of the fire. It was interacting with her other prescriptions, dropping her blood pressure dangerously low — and Calypso had picked up on it before anyone else.
Once her doctors figured out what was going on, "I was able to link the two."
Calling in Luke
Abbi decided to capitalize on Calypso's excellent natural instincts and says, "One of my best friends had been having her service dog trained with Luke." So she asked how the training was going.
When her friend had great things to say about Luke and the way he works with dogs and people, Abbi says, "I called up Luke and said, hey, let's book."
Living alone and working toward independence at home and in the world, Abbi met Luke at her place first. She wanted him to see her space, the yard, and how she is in her home environment. Luke spent six hours at Abbi's home on their first meeting, learning her space and her goals and — in Abbi's words — was "very honest with me about what may or may not be possible."
Calypso's first board and train with Luke lasted a couple of weeks. She came home a different dog: "it was day and night," Abbi says. "She was not skittish at sounds. She was super comfortable, super confident." Luke also taught Abbi how to keep training at home using reinforcement techniques and tools she could build on herself.
"It started from necessity and has become something that is even bigger than that," Abbi explains.
I refuse to be a bad service dog owner.
Building on Every Skill
Everything Calypso learned made learning the next skill possible.
She learned to tuck under chairs and tables, grew more comfortable in tight spaces, and began settling calmly in public. Abbi also taught her to brace so Calypso could help her up from the ground after a fall or a long stretch of sitting, using the framework Luke had given her.
During an eight-hour hospital visit for allergy testing, Calypso lay quietly on a travel mat the entire day. "Everyone was obsessed with her," Abbi says, "and they were very accommodating and very kind about it."
Looking Ahead
Luke and Abbi are now working toward public transit and short flights, building Calypso's comfort in small, enclosed spaces one step at a time. He's also been candid with Abbi about the road ahead, including the real possibility that Calypso's early skittishness could someday limit how far her service work can go — and what it would look like to start fresh with a dog bred and raised for the role if that day comes. That honesty is part of why Abbi trusts him.
"I always send them to Luke," Abbi says of anyone asking about training. "You've seen what Calypso can do...That's not a me thing. This is what I taught her up to this, and then everything else has been Luke."
Her therapist and psychiatrist now keep his information on hand for their own clients — a level of trust built one board and train, one follow-up session, and one hard-earned milestone at a time.
I always send them to Luke. You've seen what Calypso can do. That's not a me thing. This is what I taught her up to this, and then everything else has been Luke.
Discover more from Cowboy & Co Canine Training
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.