President, Canine and Abled, Inc. & brain injury survivor

A single Mom with traumatic brain injury is overcoming four years of homelessness and is hitting the road in an RV with her daughter and service dogs; campaigning for service dog/brain injury awareness along the way.

Kimberly Carnevale, a former professional equestrian and Olympic hopeful, sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident in 1998. She was forced to relearn to read, write, walk and talk again. Sometime later she was told she had multiple sclerosis. She wanted to give up, but something wouldn’t let her; that something was her first service dog, Dewey. Kimberly experienced the joy of new-found freedom through Dewey’s steadfast assistance and started to hold hope for a great, new life. That freedom was short-lived as she soon experienced numerous cases of illegal access denial and rude behavior in regard to her canine assistant.

The former athlete utilized her fighting spirit to found what was to become an award-winning nonprofit organization called, Canine and Abled, Inc. Kimberly became a motivational speaker/disability advocate/missionary through her organization and she and her amazing service and therapy dogs have performed at schools, churches, civic organizations, fairs and more throughout the Eastern seaboard, demonstrating service dog tasks and highlighting the tremendous benefits that service dogs provide for their partners with disabilities.

In 2004, Kimberly shared her story with the world by publishing her first book,"Canine and Abled, Taking The dis Out of Disabled."

In 2006, Kimberly, her daughter and service dogs found themselves homeless after a brutal attack and subsequent stalking from an alcoholic family member caused them to flee for their safety. Despite her homelessness, Kimberly continued to grow the Canine and Abled organization, and now, in addition to the Canine and Abled program; the organization also offers the Canine Ability program, which focuses on dog bite prevention, responsible dog ownership, and effective canine communication.

Kimberly is overcoming their homelessness and embarking on a new journey in an RV with her daughter and service dogs. They are on their way to TN to set up the Equine Ability Program (an equine assisted activity program designed to help people with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, depression, cognitive disorders and more); and the Champion Ability Horsemanship Program, which teaches traditional horseback riding lessons coupled with motivational life-coaching.

Kimberly plans to utilize the trip from NJ to TN as a service dog/brain injury awareness campaign; setting up signage on her RV, inviting questions and visits with the Canine and Abled dogs at campground stays and rest areas, and posting a travel blog for people to follow her journey.

Carnevale says she plans to introduce the organization’s existing canine programs in TN, and the organization has plans for a multi-service, service dog training center in the future.