# @canineorg on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DVjpqVzkrkQ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/58627198-canineorg-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ddf29eddea.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-06T20:51:32.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Canine Companions (@canineorg) — https://gondola.cc/canineorg

## Caption

Tessa Taylor is just 10 years old, but she's already a decorated athlete. When Tessa takes to the podium, her Canine Companions #servicedog, Veazie, joins her. 

A bright future in the Paralympic Games awaits Tessa, and a possible spot on the medal stand with Veazie may well be on the horizon for this “Unstoppable” athlete. 

Nicknamed Unstoppable Miss T., Tessa’s adoptive mother, Jan, explains that her daughter first discovered sports through adaptive skiing in Southern California’s Big Bear Mountain. 

Because of seizures that occur as a result of abuse suffered when she was just weeks old, which necessitated three brain surgeries before she was 6 months old, Jan says she wasn't comfortable with Tessa skiing competitively. However, there was no stopping the athletic force that is Tessa, as she successfully transitioned to track and field, as well as competitive shooting. 

Service Dog Veazie is part of her training, too. Jan explains that with a soft cover equipped with a grabbable tail on Tessa’s shot put ball allows Veazie to employ a professional service cue – “retrieve” – to aid in practice. 🐕‍🦺 

Veazie’s involvement in preparing Tessa for the #Paralympics is a full-circle moment, as Jan explains the family first learned of Canine Companions at a usopmuseum event in Colorado Springs. 

“They held a big festival there, and Tessa and I went to meet some of the athletes. After going through the line, we met Paralympian Amanda McGrory and she was with Canine Companions Service Dog Calvin,” Jan says. 

Amanda McGrory, a wheelchair basketball star for the University of Illinois, became a four-time medalist in track and field at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Then teamed with Service Dog Calvin, Amanda shared the benefits of Canine Companions with Jan and Tessa. 

“That was the beginning of our Canine Companions connection,” Jan says. 

With that moment, one generation of Canine Companions athletes inspired the next generation - and many more to come in the future. 💪 
.
.
.
.
#LeadWithIndependence #paralympian #paralympicgames #sports #disabilitypride #servicedogsofinstagram #servicedogsofinsta #servicedogsofig  teamusa

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 598
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 9

## Tags

disabilitypride, servicedogsofig, servicedog, leadwithindependence, servicedogsofinstagram, sports, paralympian, servicedogsofinsta, paralympics, paralympicgames

---
Copyright (c) Gondola