INFOCUS
PROVIDING SAFETY AND SERVICE THROUGH A LOVE FOR DOGS
WRITTEN BY BRENNAN HALLOCK PHOTOS BY JAMI BOWMAN
D
ogs can be essential to our lives, both as pets and as service dogs. And Vital K9 understands that. Vital K9’s mission is to help people feel safe and help them know they matter through dogs. And this has led owner Abigail Wilmoth to offer service dog training for mobility, allergies, and PTSD, in addition to training pets and companion dogs. Wilmoth grew up in Arkansas, and she began her business in the Natural State (as Arkansas is known) during her senior year at the University of Arkansas. She majored in animal science, completing her bachelor’s degree along with a master dog trainer certification. “I started Vital K9 because I’d trained a lot of dogs, and I wanted to help people through dogs,” explains Wilmoth. “There are not a lot of businesses that do it how I love
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NOVEMBER 2022
Abigail Wilmoth with her two personal working dogs, Nugget and Vita.
to do it. Service dog work just fell right into place.” Wilmoth’s business focuses on three types of service dogs: mobility, allergies, and PTSD. Every service dog is different for what they’re trained to do. Some service dogs help with mobility, such as helping someone stand up or get out of bed. Or it could be helping with simple tasks
that many people don’t pay attention to but are difficult for others. This could be getting up off of a park bench, walking on an uneven surface, or standing for long periods of time. Dogs trained for mobility also retrieve items such as phones, keys, and wallets—things we drop or misplace on a daily basis. Vital K9 also trains dogs for indi-
