‘Solemn Honour’: Texas Service Dog With More Than 250 Flights To The Southwest Takes Last Journey Home

DALLAS – We don’t cry, you cry.

Okay, we’re all crying after watching this video posted by Southwest Airlines on Tuesday.

On February 2, an airline from Dallas had a very special guest aboard a plane bound for Love Field: Kaia, a German Shepherd service dog, on her last flight.

Kaia, who was traveling with her handler Cole Lyle, was recently diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer, the flight’s pilot told passengers.

As the pilot explained, Kai was trained to help veterans with their mental health. And, more remarkably, she was the mastermind behind the PAWS Act, which created a dog training program for veterans suffering from PTSD.

She was a valued Southwest passenger, having flown their aircraft with Cole, a Marine Corps veteran, over 250 times.

“We have the solemn honor of taking her on our last flight,” the pilot said, “when she goes home to rest where she was born and where she first met Cole.”

After the announcement of the pilot, the flight caused a storm of applause from Kaya, and she jumped up from the covers.

When they arrived in Dallas, Cole carried Kaia out of the plane, and Southwest provided a trolley to help her navigate the terminal’s mobility issues.

A few days later, Kaya passed away, according to Cole, who posted a message about her death on Twitter.

“My heart is broken and I’m numb without him,” Cole wrote. “But it’s good because you don’t suffer anymore. Thank you for bringing Semper Fidelis to life.”

In an interview with WFAA, Cole shared the story of how Kaya saved his life.

Cole spent six years in the Marine Corps, visiting Afghanistan and then returning home to North Texas with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I have tried pills and tried therapy. The pills only made things worse. I went into a spiral and almost became a veteran suicide statistic,” Cole said.

He was reaching out for anything that could help when he met a fellow veteran with a service dog.

He found Kaya, a purebred German Shepherd, shorty from a litter born between Denton and Fort Worth.

He spent $10,000 of his own money on Kaya and her training.

“She was specially trained to wake me up from nightmares, stop panic attacks and things like that,” he said.

Cole says Kaya saved him from committing suicide.

“A dog can be a powerful thing to keep you around,” he said. “If you get to this point, you look at the dog and say, well, I can’t leave the dog. The dog will miss me.”

Kaya helped Cole get his A&M degree and crossed the stage with him at prom.

The two moved to Washington, DC.

Cole became a Veterans Policy Advisor to the US Senate and discovered the power of a four-legged lobbyist.

The pair worked together to convince Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass the PAWS Act.

Kaia led a charming and influential life in the nation’s capital, well known and loved by politicians, visiting the US Capitol and the White House, and meeting celebrities and sports stars along the way.

But this charming life was too short due to the diagnosis of cancer.

In January, Kaya underwent surgery to remove the neoplasm, but soon the cancer metastasized.

A swelling under her tongue made it difficult for her to eat, and balance problems made it difficult to walk or play.

“I didn’t want her to suffer and suffer after all the pain and suffering she ended,” Cole said through tears.

“She’s from Texas and I didn’t want her to die in Virginia,” he said.

That’s why Cole and Kaya made this last flight with Southwest Airlines.

When he landed in Dallas, his family, friends, and fellow veterans said goodbye to Kaya.

Cole then took her to College Station and they visited all the places they had been before.

Texas A&M gave her a room overlooking Kyle Field and brought her a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage on her last morning.

Cole took her to a pond near the Bush School of Government and Public Service and spent a couple of hours holding her.

The Small Animal Educational Hospital then peacefully helped Kaya fall into an eternal sleep.

“It was very hard to wake up without him for the first time, but she had a huge impact and left a huge legacy,” said Cole. so many veterans.”

On April 26, Kaya would have turned 9 years old.