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Jaya came to Colorado from Kansas in 2017 as a one-year-old stray. A kind soul from Dumb Friends League noticed Jaya's intelligence and thought he would make an excellent service dog.  They gave him to Freedom Service Dogs, whose trainers instructed him in all kinds of helpful tasks. It seemed for a while that Jaya was destined to assist a veteran with post traumatic stress disorder.

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As he got to know his trainers, Jaya became more confident and let his true nature shine. Not only was he smart, he was sensitive to his handlers' emotions. He also turned out to be a very extroverted dog! The people at Freedom Service Dogs realized Jaya would be happiest interacting with all sorts of people, and they reclassified him as a Therapy Dog. 

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Jaya is a symbol of how kind care can allow all of us to bloom and share our gifts with the world.