BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For many people with a disability, having a service animal can greatly improve their day-to-day life, but it also comes at a hefty cost. That’s where Ben McGill found a way to help others.
McGill, who lives in Bowling Green with his wife, always has a four-legged companion by his side, a one-and-a-half year old golden-pyrenes named Bowie.
Bowie is a seizure alert and stability dog and is able to help McGill, who has frequent seizures caused by epilepsy.
“Sometimes I’ll get blurry eyes right before a seizure, and he detects it about 15 minutes prior to that. Not as often as 15 minutes, sometimes it’s five minutes, but he detects it faster than I even recognize when it’s coming,” McGill said.
McGill has had Bowie for about seven months. He says having him around has changed his life for the better.
“I used to have to have a cane and instead of falling over, he will actually keep me upright now as I lean away from him while still keeping that straight line,” McGill said.
McGill is a dog trainer by trade and has worked with nearly 50 service animals through his company, Good Boy Dog Training. Earlier this year, he also created a nonprofit of the same name with the mission of making service animals more affordable.
“Most people who can utilize or benefit from having a service dog do not have what is the average of like $30,000 to be able to afford to buy a service dog,” McGill said.
This mission is funded by community donations, fundraisers and some profits from his business. Currently, they still charge a few hundred dollars for training but eventually hope to offer it free of charge.
“We have children on the spectrum. We need service dogs. We have people with high blood pressure. We have people with epilepsy like myself. We have all sorts of things, people that can benefit from them but do not have access to them,” McGill stated.
Like many in situations like his, McGill knows firsthand the impact a service animal can have on your life.
“I couldn’t be happier with having both my service dogs and I can’t imagine ever having a better one than Bowie,” McGill said.
McGill adds people with service animals can often run into issues in public as businesses may not know if their animals can be allowed in. He adds to help cut down on issues, he encourages people who do not need a service animal to not bring their pets into places where they’re not needed.