Cole Lyle has carried unshakable PTSD from his marine corps tour in Afghanistan into civilian life. Fortunately, Lyle didn’t bear that weight alone.
For nine years, Kaya, a German Shepherd, soothed Lyle’s recall of incidents most of us will never comprehend. Kaya is a military service dog specifically trained to help Lyle cope with mental health issues.
“I spiraled down and almost became a veteran suicide statistic,” Lyle told the local ABC affiliate in Dallas. “And, if you do get to that point, you look down at the dog and say, ‘Well, I can’t leave the dog. The dog would miss me’.”
Lyle sunk $10K of his own money into Kaya’s service dog training. They walked together at Lyle’s graduation ceremony at Texas A&M University. The pair later moved to D.C. where Lyle became an advisor on veterans’ policies.
Kaya’s distinguished service inspired the bipartisan PAWS act of 2021. Provisions of the act mandate that the VA conduct a five-year pilot program to provide canine training to eligible Veterans diagnosed with PTSD as part of a complementary and integrative health program.
During her tenure, Kaya had flown more than 250 times on Southwest Airlines. Sadly, that streak ended last February when Kaya took her last trip home from D.C. to Dallas with Lyle. Kaya had been recently diagnosed with untreatable cancer.
The Pilot was so moved by Kaya’s service and story that he introduced the furry passenger to other travelers and crew: “[There’s] a special guest on today’s flight,” a voice broke through the hum of jet engines. “We have the solemn honor of taking Kaya on what will be her last flight.” The pilot’s voice quavered in his expression of gratitude: “On behalf of Southwest Airlines, we thank both Cole and Kaya for their service.” Passengers erupted in applause.
Cole deplaned, cradling Kaya in his arms. Unable to walk, Kaya nestled on a fluffy throw as she was transported through the terminal on a flatbed cart. Kaya spent her last night in a suite provided by the university and was treated to a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage the next morning. Lyle then took her to a special pond where the two cuddled for hours before their final goodbye. “I didn’t want her to be in pain and suffer after all the pain and suffering that she stopped.”
The day after Kaya was humanely euthanized, Lyle posted on social media: “First sunrise without Kaya hurts more than words can express.” Lyle thanked followers for the thousands of expressions of support via text, voicemail and social media and noted, “Haven’t had emotional energy or time to respond to them all. Rest assured, I listened [to]/read them all.”
Lyle is establishing Kaya’s Canines, a charity raising funds to help veterans obtain medical care for their service dogs.
“She was so impactful for me,” Lyle told David Muir of ABC News Tonight. “I want other veterans to have the same resources that I had. Our mission is to heal the dogs that serve veterans.”
The PAWS pilot program is offered at five VA medical centers including Anchorage, AK; Asheville, N.C; Palo Alto, CA; San Antonio, TX and West Palm Beach, FL.