Welcome to Love 'Em & Lead 'Em hosted by Melaney and Cory, dog trainers at Dog Training Camp Louisville. The podcast features practical dog training advice with humor and real-life experiences from their kennel.    In this episode, Cory shares the recent loss of her beloved dog, Harvey Walker—a black German Shepherd and her service dog. Diagnosed two years earlier with Wobblers disease, Harvey’s quality of life had steadily declined due to both the illness and the heavy steroid treatments required to manage it. His obsession with food, brought on by the medication, led to countless chaotic moments, including raiding cabinets and consuming nearly 200 hamburger buns. Despite the challenges, Harvey was deeply loved, and his final day was marked with chocolate cake and a bittersweet farewell. Harvey came into Cory’s life during a period of intense grief following her mother’s death. What began as a hopeful attempt to find emotional comfort in a grief dog turned into an unpredictable and life-altering journey. Harvey didn’t soothe Cory’s pain in the way she imagined—he distracted her with his difficult behavior and unrelenting energy. But that distraction ultimately helped her heal. Their story also reveals how Harvey played a pivotal role in connecting Cory with Melaney, who was just beginning her dog training career. This chance meeting laid the foundation for their friendship and the podcast itself, illustrating how a mischievous dog became a catalyst for transformation and new beginnings. Cory and Melaney’s relationship began under unusual and emotional circumstances. Cory had been searching for a trainer to help with her dog Harvey, who was meant to be a PTSD service animal, but none felt right—until she stumbled upon Melaney. Though Melaney had limited experience with service dogs at the time, she agreed to help. Their connection deepened quickly when they discovered they were from the same tiny town in Illinois and had attended the same high school 16 years apart. This uncanny coincidence made their meeting feel fated. Harvey’s difficult behavior required constant sessions and attention, ultimately bringing the two women into close and frequent contact. If he had been an easy dog, their relationship might have ended there—but his challenges bonded them in ways they didn’t expect. As they worked on Harvey’s severe dog reactivity, Cory became highly involved and emotional, while Melaney navigated her own mental health struggles that were just beginning to surface. Harvey proved to be excellent at performing PTSD-related tasks but remained volatile around other dogs, which led to extensive training across various settings. Throughout the process, Cory learned to recognize and express her mental health challenges, while Melaney, previously unaware of her own trauma, began to acknowledge it—ironically with help from Harvey, who started alerting to Melaney’s distress. Though Harvey wasn’t the affectionate dog Cory hoped for, he turned out to be a powerful emotional barometer and catalyst for healing, not only for Cory but also for Melaney. Melaney reflects on her past approach to working with dogs, where she saw them as emotionless tools to be conditioned rather than emotional beings. This mindset began to shift as she worked with Cory, who had the language and perspective to recognize signs of mental health struggles. During a service dog training session at a noisy school cafeteria, Melaney experienced a panic attack, attempting to hide it while continuing the session. Cory noticed something was wrong, marking one of the first times Melaney felt truly seen by someone. That moment helped spark a deeper connection between them and showed Melaney that she wasn’t alone in her struggles. As their bond deepened, Melaney brought Cory into more cases, and they supported each other through overlapping periods of poor mental health. Harvey, the dog that connected them, became an emotional anchor and symbol of their shared