# @canineorg on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DVop9d_Ek83
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/58875965-canineorg-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1ad1ccc715.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-08T19:30:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Canine Companions (@canineorg) — https://gondola.cc/canineorg

## Caption

Canine Companions #servicedog graduate Alanna Flax-Clark says that, “sports became an outlet for me to challenge myself and see how far I could go.” In 2028, she can go as far as the paralympics without traveling far from home. 

An alternate for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, Alanna has the unique opportunity to make her paralympic debut in her home area of Los Angeles. The Northridge resident is a hopeful for the 2028 #Paralympics in fencing coming off a second-place finish in Saber in the 2025 National Championship. 

Fencing isn't the first sport in which Alanna has excelled at a high level, either. Having worked with children with disabilities, she discovered hippotherapy and says seeing the benefits of horseback riding inspired her to pursue equestrian. 🏇 

“My physical therapist told me it was a sport in the Paralympics. I heard, ‘Sports, horses, Paralympics,’ and [despite] not growing up around horses at all, I knew this is what I wanted to do,” she says. 

“It was a challenge, but it allowed me to gain confidence in myself to be independent again,” Alanna adds. 

The bond between human and animal, and its promotion of independence, is a theme for Alanna. She partners with her Canine Companions #servicedog, Nico, and Alanna says she “cannot imagine life without him.” 🐕‍🦺 

Likewise, others in the fencing community can't imagine Alanna without Nico. While attending the National Championships in Salt Lake City, she made the tough decision to travel without Nico, explaining she “didn’t want him to have to sit around a convention center all day.” 

Nico’s absence prompted a member of the governing body to ask where Alanna’s service dog was. 

“Everyone has now offered to take him on walks during my competitions and watch him during my events,” Alanna says. “And it shows a genuine interest in the human being who might be good at sport, but there’s so much more to them.” ❤️ 
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#LeadWithIndependence #paralympian #paralympicgames #sports #disabilitypride #community #equestrian #servicedogsofinstagram #servicedogsofinsta #servicedogsofig teamusa

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## Tags

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

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