This is a story about a lady and her dog. Or, more correctly, an exceptional lady and her dogs and the mutual benefits and rewards of the relationships.

La Grange Park resident Karrilynn Gagliano grew up in a beautiful home on Bloomingbank Road in Riverside, the daughter of Paula and Frank Gagliano. It was a fairy tale existence with many friends, a happy home, a happy lifestyle. In keeping with her charmed life, she earned a degree in wild life management at West Florida University at Pensacola, but as sometimes happens in fairy tales, trouble loomed.

Karrilynn’s life changed abruptly when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Gone were ambitious plans for exploration of the oceans. Her affliction later resulted not only in confinement to a wheelchair, but bouts with blindness.

“Usually only female patients are blinded by MS, which in my life comes and goes,” she said.

“Although I believe I was coming down with MS even in high school at Nazareth, I really became ill about a year after Dave Stachowicz and I were married.”

Not only did Karrilynn have her first major attack of MS at that time, but their home, which they were rehabbing, was nearly destroyed by one of those “100 year” rainstorms. With a destroyed house and her attack of blindness, the young couple seemingly faced a bleak future.

Change came in the form of a greyhound dog. Karrilynn learned the dogs are used as racers on tracks from the time they are about 2 to 4 years old, then disposed of in one way or another.

“It was then we learned about REGAP (Retired Greyhounds as Pets), that dogs are available for adoption after they undergo therapy at REGAP. My longtime friend, Anne Carey, daughter of Tom and Mary Carey, helped me train my first dog, ‘Cannonball,’ a former racing dog. Cannonball was my first pet and kept me motivated to walk. He changed my life.

“Then I found ‘Yaz,’ who is now my Service Dog. Yaz was destined to be destroyed, taken into the Great Plains and left to die, providing live food for wild coyotes. Tiffany Hester of Kansas saved Yaz and two other dogs. I was then able to adopt him.

“Yaz was named by Dave, my husband, a tool-and-die mechanic who is also a baseball fan. Dave has named all nine of our dogs after ballplayers. Yaz is named after Carl Yazkemski, Ryno after Ryne Sandberg, Chipper is named for Chipper Jones, and Maddux for Greg Maddux. DiMaggio is named for Joe DiMaggio, Mini is named for Mini Minoso, who today is a good friend of both my parents and our family. Kid is named after Kid Nichols, and Eppa got his name from Eppa Rixey, a turn-of-the-century ballplayer.

“Many of these dogs are hard to adopt as they are special needs dogs. Some have major health issues. Chipper came to us with four infected feet and needed special care. Mini raced 175 times and was also used for breeding. Most of our dogs are seniors, 10 years of age or older. They sleep a lot because they have very high metabolisms, and burn energy even when they sleep. Most of the time I take them out for their exercise and air, either walking or in my wheelchair.”

The Greyhounds are not allowed to sleep their lives away. The dogs are welcomed at the La Grange Park Library, where some of the children read to the dogs. These children find reading to the Greyhounds a less stressful situation than reading to either a teacher or their peers. The dogs neither correct a mispronunciation, nor do they roll their eyes heavenward when the child makes an error.

“We also take the dogs to Loyola and Hines hospitals, where the patients love to say hello and stroke the dogs,” Karrilynn said.

The Service Dogs are known as “medical devices” and are not treated as pets. They are allowed to accompany a patient in public places, such as restaurants, airlines and theaters, just as “Seeing Eye Dogs” accompany their owners.

Saving these abused and older Greyhound racing dogs became a challenge.

“Dave makes wooden beds for the dogs, strong enough to support their weight, and I make the pillows for the beds,” Karrilynn explained.

To make money to help cover medical expenses (Dave does have health insurance but that does not cover all the costs of Karrilynn’s illness), she has an artistic flair and is creating lovely dog collars and necklaces for dogs of all sizes. A recent movie, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” may have taken the pet culture to another level and featured jeweled doggie accessories.

REGAP advises that Greyhounds not only date back to 4,000 B.C. but were regarded as dogs of nobility. They are genetically healthy animals, are clean and easy to care for. They rarely bark or lick and are sensitive and extremely loving. With a life expectancy of 12 to 14 years, they require the same amount of exercise as any other breed. They run in excess of 40 mph, are intelligent, entertaining and great with kids.

Dave and Karrilynn are hoping other responsible people will look into adopting one of these beautiful animals, who have escaped from the rigors of racing. REGAP of Illinois, Inc., is an anti-race, nonprofit adoption/rescue program dedicated to finding good, permanent homes for retired Greyhounds.

As a representative of REGAP of Illinois, Karrilynn invites interested parties to visit the Petco in Hodgkins, 9270 Joliet Road, from noon to 3 p.m. every third Sunday. George and Mona Moore of Wilmore Kennels will be able to give more information.

For those interested in purchasing dog collars or necklaces to match the collars, phone (708) 579-9212. Remember, a classy dog is a happy dog.