“Mom, I’d like to figure out how to die so I can see my dad one more time.”
Those words from her elementary school-aged daughter broke the heart of Gold Star wife Jillian Hinton all over again, and she knew something had to give. Army Sgt. Terrence Hinton had died in a military truck crash in 2017, when Cayleigh was only 5 years old. In the following years, the family moved to Florida, lost their longtime dog to old age and watched Christian, Cayleigh’s older brother, leave for college.
“Cayleigh was coming home from school saying, ‘All the kids there have families and they’re happy,’” said Jillian. “She saw all these reminders of what she’s not going to have.”
Instead, Cayleigh had extreme separation anxiety, was disconnected from friends and began talking about suicide, even though she didn’t fully understand it. One night, while staying up to make sure Cayleigh didn’t hurt herself, Jillian was cruising through Facebook. She saw a post from a Gold Star widow she knew showing a cute canine.
RELATED: Blaze Pizza announces new partnership supporting Gold Star families
“We got a Gold Star Family Dog from Dogs Inc!” the caption said. Jillian researched the nonprofit, excitedly discovering that its headquarters was only 15 minutes down the road. Dogs Inc (formerly known as Southeastern Guide Dogs) trains and provides guide dogs for those with vision loss, service dogs for veterans with disabilities, and skilled companion dogs for veterans, military and Gold Star families in need — at no cost to recipients.
Could this be the answer the Hinton family was looking for? Jillian sent off a “desperate” email to Dogs Inc, she says, explaining their situation.
“I begged them,” she said. “But I was afraid to hope for this dog, to want it, because it felt larger than life.”
Larger than life is exactly how Taylor, the black Lab chosen to be Cayleigh’s skilled companion dog, turned out to be.
“Taylor makes me feel loved, safe and never alone,” said Caleigh, now 12 years old. “Her presence is like a warm hug on the hardest days.”
Taylor’s impact on Cayleigh was immediately noticeable when they first met in 2020. The canine rushed past Jillian and went straight to Cayleigh, calmly sitting down and waiting. The girl threw her arms around Taylor, and the pair sat there for several minutes, unmoving.
“Taylor knew exactly what she was here for, and she was already on the job,” Jillian said.
That first night, she went to check on the new pair. Previously, since Terrence’s death, Cayleigh took refuge underneath her bed, where she felt hidden and safe. But on that first night with Taylor, Cayleigh was back in bed, sleeping contentedly with her arm around her new best friend.
“Within a week, Cayleigh was out front meeting the neighbor kids, saying, ‘Hey, look at my dog,’” Jillian said. “Now she’s interested in going out of the house and visiting family again.”
Taylor could never replace Terrence, of course. And Cayleigh misses her brother, who joined the Marines and is stationed in California. But daily walks, games of tug-of-war and a special paw dance from Taylor that always makes Cayleigh smile go a long way toward helping her cope.
“When I’m feeling really sad and want to stay in my room, Taylor always knows. She will come find me and rest her head on my lap,” Cayleigh said. “Sometimes she licks my cheek and makes me laugh. I don’t want her to worry about me.”
Jillian now regularly encourages Gold Star families she encounters to consider a dog from Dogs Inc.
“It will never be a replacement for what we lost,” she said, tearing up, “But man, is it a close second.”
Visit https://dogsinc.org/ for more information on Dogs Inc, including obtaining a Gold Star Family Dog.
