My Nonprofit Reviews

My name is Onyx Gonzalez. My struggle in life began early. At the age of 13 I attempted to commit suicide and was admitted to a psychiatric ward. I was diagnosed at that time with depression and extreme social anxiety. Since then I have have been on many, many, many medications. At one point I was taking up to 15 pills in one day. I have recently been diagnosed with PTSD from the abuse I experienced as a child. A trusted group of professionals are still trying to figure out my diagnosis to this day, there is a strong chance I have BPD. I have and do continue to struggle immensely with my various physical and mental conditions. I experience dissociation, panic attacks, fainting spells, chronic pain, severe anxiety and depressive spells among other things. At around the age of 14 I began to let my illnesses define who I was. I didn't want to leave my house. I isolated myself and shut out those around me. I gave up all hope in getting better. I didn't set goals in life because I didn't expect to live long enough to accomplish them. This all changed abruptly when I was 16. I met Marjorie Satterfield with Glad Wags dog training. She took me in under her wing and helped me. I never thought I would qualify for a service dog. Paying for a service dog wasn't something that would ever be possible through other places. Marj worked with me and my family to make it happen. Marj introduced me to a blue heeler named Kayla and it was love at first sight. I went to all 3 classes on mondays and tuesdays and just watched Marj train. Kayla can sense whenever I am going to have a panic attack or pass out. She does many tasks to help assist me with daily tasks that are easy for most people but difficult due to my disability. I began working for Marj in 2017 after many places turned me away due to my disability and service dog. Since then my life has drastically improved. Marj has been like a mother to me and I will never been able to thank her for what she has done for me and how she has changed my life. Marj has changed the life of so many people. ¨Save a life, Change a life¨ #GladWagsStrong