Help Bring Corduroy Home: Support Animals - Mental Wellness

Help Us Bring Corduroy Home: Pets are More Than Property - A Journey of Mental Wellness and Trauma Recovery | 15% of every dollar donated to Golden State Humane Society

"Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose."

In Loving Memory of Jacob Douglas Peck

Jacob Douglas Peck passed unexpectedly on June 11, 2024, at just 39. He was family—a confidant, a compassionate soul who faced life’s hardest battles with courage and vulnerability.

Jacob carried deep childhood trauma, and for years, sometimes turned to alcohol or drugs to manage the pain. But in the final three years of his life, everything changed. He embraced therapy, recovery, and self-discovery. Substance use was never who he was—it was a symptom of the pain he was working so hard to heal.

Jacob was never defined by his struggles. Substance abuse was not who he was—it was merely a byproduct of the pain he was trying to escape. Like many, he loved to be social, but for Jacob, alcohol could sometimes trigger intense emotional episodes that left him feeling powerless. Those deep wounds of trauma and the weight of depression often brought him to moments of despair and even suicidal ideation. He worked hard to break that cycle, and his progress was one of the things he was most proud of.

How Corduroy Came Into Our Lives

Amid his struggles, Jacob found hope in a tiny Maltipoo puppy named Corduroy.

I encouraged him to accept the idea of getting a puppy after the death of his beloved cat, Squirrel, who had been by his side for 20 years. Jacob had already helped raise and nurture Reagan, a Psychiatric Support Animal who lived with me, and he saw firsthand how healing her presence was—how much structure, comfort, and emotional support she brought into my life...and his.

With his therapist’s support, I gently suggested that a puppy might offer him that same kind of grounding light—especially because he felt a deep sense of loneliness we couldn't be together . At first, Jacob was hesitant. He worried that the responsibility might be too much. So we made a pact: we’d get her together. If it ever became too overwhelming, Corduroy could live with me—where he'd see her all the time—in the family home Jacob himself felt safest in, surrounded by love and stability.

From the moment we brought her home, I knew we had done the right thing.

Corduroy wasn’t just a pet or a psychiatric support animal. She was the most vulnerable member of our family—bearing the emotional weight of Jacob’s world on her tiny shoulders. She gave him purpose, routine, and a reason to keep fighting. Her love kept him grounded. Her presence held him accountable to his path of recovery.

Corduroy saved Jacob’s life many times… until the day she couldn’t.

Our Pact, Our Family

We chose Corduroy together. We named, trained, nurtured, and raised her together.

Like many who carry childhood trauma, Jacob didn’t always have the tools he needed for adulthood. He didn’t leave a will—something not uncommon for someone still learning the life skills he may not have had modeled or taught to him in childhood.

When his biological family asked if I thought he had taken his own life, I said no. Jacob would never leave Corduroy. She was his anchor. She was his “why.” And when they asked if he had overdosed, I explained that his recovery had taken him far beyond that chapter of his life.

Jacob’s death was the result of a tragic accident: a concussion from a bump on the head. Days later, he went to sleep and never woke up.

But the heartbreak didn’t end there.

On the day Jacob died, Corduroy was taken by someone he had distanced himself from during his sobriety—someone he had explicitly said he didn’t trust to care for her. Someone he loved deeply and considered a friend. This person had no role in Corduroy’s upbringing or daily care. Worse, when she ripped Corduroy from our family on that tragic day, she also separated her from Jacob’s other 19 year old cat Angelo—with whom Corduroy loved, had an attachment to, and cared for alongside Jacob.

Since then, I’ve been denied all contact or visitation with Corduroy—despite being listed in veterinary records as her secondary caregiver and having helped raise her from puppyhood.

Why This Fight Matters

• Corduroy’s Legal Rights Are Being Violated

Corduroy is an ADA-protected Psychiatric Support Animal, entitled to stability and continuity of care. Under California Animal Welfare Law, being denied the only other home she ever knew—without consideration for her emotional and physical welfare—is a direct violation of those protections.

As a matter of Jacob's estate in Probate, Corduroy is a sentient being—yet she is being treated as if she were nothing more than a piece of furniture.

• She Is Living in a Dangerous and Unstable Environment: Corduroy is currently being housed in a home where substance use disorder is present, personally witnessed by Jacob himself, and her care is often left to transient roommates due to her caretakers work schedule. Jacob explicitly stated that he did not trust this environment—it gave him incredible anxiety when he accompanied Corduroy's there. She is now isolated from the safety, structure, and love she was raised in.

• This Is About More Than a Dog

It’s About Family: Jacob’s journey was a testament to the courage it takes to confront trauma and choose healing. Corduroy was a part of that journey, and her story highlights the critical role psychiatric support animals play in mental health recovery. Jacob's proudest accomplishment was the progress he made on his trauma recovery journey.

• Honoring Jacob’s Legacy

Jacob's greatest accomplishment wasn’t just overcoming his past and designing his future—it was building a life rooted in recovery, responsibility, and chosen family. Denying Corduroy her rightful

• Advocating for the Rights of Support Animals

This case exposes the urgent need for legal reform in how support animals are treated in probate and custody disputes. Psychiatric support animals are not legally classified as pets under federal law—they are lifelines. Their rights, and the wishes of their owners, must be upheld.

By sharing my experiences as part of Jacob’s journey and chosen family, I hope to also help destigmatize mental health struggles and offer real insight into the path of trauma recovery.

When his biological family first "agreed" to honor the family Jacob created by returning Corduroy to me, I believed them. Grief exposes us to moments of profound vulnerability when we lose a loved one, and those moments are undeniably real.

How You Can Help

I’ve exhausted my financial resources on legal counsel that didn’t seem to take the case seriously. I can’t afford to hire another attorney, while his family continues to use the estate’s attorney—paid for by the life’s work Jacob left behind—seemingly as a shield against the truth.

I am currently not being afforded the good faith, impartiality, or fiduciary transparency required under the California Probate Code. Instead, I’m forced to fight—against the estate that appears to favor convenience over truth—for both Corduroy’s rightful return and Jacob’s legacy of recovery and chosen family.

I am determined not to let his bio-family tear apart the family Jacob chose and built for himself—grounded in love and healing, where we fight for each other more than we fight with each other.

Every contribution will support Corduroy’s legal defense.

15% of all donations will be made in Jacob’s name to the Golden State Humane Society in Long Beach, CA.

Here’s How You Can Support

1. Donate – Every dollar counts in this fight for Corduroy’s future.

2. Share – Share this GoFundMe link with friends, family, and animal lovers who believe every pet deserves a safe, loving home—and that psychiatric support animals are family, not property.

3. Follow Our Progress – Visit FreeCorduroyand follow @freecorduroy on social media for updates, photos, and our ongoing legal journey.