K9s From Carrie

Our daughter Carrie was sexually assaulted when she was 12 years old which led to her eventual diagnosis of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety. Between 2010 and 2014, Carrie spent much of her time in hospitals and various mental health facilities to treat her illness. There were times when her treatment at these facilities was brief and other times required her to be admitted for up to six months. Some of these facilities were up to an hour away from home which limited her visits with family. One of those years, Carrie spent more time in facilities than she did at home and when Carrie was at home, she spent at least three days per week doing some sort of therapy.

Along with severe depression, fequent nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety, Carrie also had several attempts at suicide and frequently performed self-injury (cutting). This dangerous behavior required Carrie to be prescribed a voluminous amount of prescription drugs which had very unpleasant side affects.


In late November of 2012, Bonnie and Tom (parents) made the decision to discontinue the hospitalizations and in-patient treatments in lieu of home treatment as her condition seemed to be worsening rather than improving. Bonnie resigned from her job and stayed home with Carrie full time while she was placed on homebound status with school. Bonnie spent most days taking Carrie to her many treatment and lesson plans. It was a long road but in September of 2013, Carrie's condition improved so much that she was able to return to school at Blaine High on a part time basis. By the end of the year she was full time at school and had reached many mile stones such as getting her driver's license, her first job, and making new friends. Even though Carrie seemed to be improving and doing quite well, the struggle became too great. She lost her very difficult battle with depression and passed away from suicide on September 7, 2014.

Throughout the last couple years of her life, there were numerous things Carrie participated in that were beneficial in her treatment plan such as; guitar lessons, art, working with special ed children at BHS, and animal therapy. But her favorite activity near the end was helping to facilitate animal adoptions at the Humane Society. Tom and Bonnie eventually decided it was time to get a dog for the family and hoped it would be instumental in Carrie's treatment. We can not describe how beneficial this was to not only Carrie but to Tom, Bonnie, and Alli (sister) as well.

There were a handful of things and people that kept Carrie with us for as long as she was. One of those things was Scout - our big red lab. He alerted us when Carrie was stuggling, and he cuddled and kissed her until she came through a panic or flashback episode.

We feel strongly that there needs to be changes in the treatment of mental health and that it should not be silenced or swept under the rug. We will continue to do what we can to fight that big monster. In the mean time, we would like to give to others what was given to us, the unconditional love of a dog.

In March of 2015, we used Carrie's memorial funds to purchase a dog for a family that could really benefit from everything a dog has to offer. It has been a life changing event for them in so many positive ways. We would like to continue this on a larger scale, hence,
K-9s From Carrie.

Our goals are to provide the loving therapy only a dog can provide to individuals and families battling mental illness and to raise awareness about mental illness, depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

Please help us raise money to help families in need of a loving dog. This may not have a huge impact in changing the problems in the mental health system but it will have a huge impact on those struggling with this horrible disease. The more we raise, the more we can help. We also want to use some of the proceeds to pay legal fees for creating an official 501(c)3 organization.

Between $2000-$25000
We will provide a dog for as many applicants as we can along with enough training to achieve "good samaitan" certification.
Between $25000-50000
We will provide a dog for as many applicants as we can and training between good samaritan and fully trained service dogs.
Between $50000-$100000
We will provide good samaritan dogs and service dogs for as many applicants as we can plus donate back to charities and programs that address social issues that align with our goals. At this level we would also invest in adverising to promote awareness of mental illness issues.
Between $100000-$250000
We will provide the dogs, donate back to local charities, advertise, and hopefully partner with a local veterans program addressing the needs of the wonderful people who sacrificed and served our beloved country.
Between $250000-$500000
All the aforementioned actions plus start a service dog farm that breeds, raises, and trains dogs specifically for donating to those in need and aligning with our goals.
Over $500000
Pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming, and continue but expand all of the aforementioned actions.


Thank you so much for your support, your time, your donations, and all of the well wishes sent our way.
Bonnie, Tom, and Allison Gallagher