A Service Dog For Siena

When I was 14 I lost a significant amount of my independence and ability to chronic illness. At a time when so many young people start finding their identity and freedom, I felt like I was losing mine to hospitals, doctors, and medications. Between 2018 and 2022 I have been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, Mast Cell Activation Disorder, endometriosis, chronic migraines, and medical PTSD as a result of hospitalizations. To many, those might just sound like big medical terms, but to me, they are the difference between really living, and just surviving. Each of these conditions come with their own debilitating symptoms. Just a couple are chronic joint and muscle pain, frequent fainting spells, weakness in my legs and arms, constant nausea, fatigue, balance issues, having to choose how to spend my energy when I have it, and so much more. I’ve been homebound for nearly 3 years due to my disabilities and illnesses, so I missed out on many “normal” teenage life experiences. Dances, finals, learning to drive, having a job, even just going to school, which I left only one quarter into my freshman year and have done online school ever since.

Reflecting on this, and thinking about my future and what’s ahead of me, my care team and I decided that a service dog to assist and increase my independence would be a great tool to have as I head to college and beyond. I have always been proactive about making changes and choices that will benefit my quality of life, so I’m hoping that a service dog can be the next big change that helps me through the next phase of my life.

I have found and been accepted into an organization in California that will train a multipurpose service dog for me over the next year! The tasks this dog will be trained to perform include alerting me prior to fainting spells through detecting changes in my heart rate, deep pressure therapy which assists with pain, anxiety, and blood circulation, item retrievals, counterbalance to stabilize me while I walk, forward momentum pulling when I experience weakness, and interrupting harmful anxiety behaviors. In addition to the tasks this dog will perform to mitigate my disabilities, he or she will provide invaluable emotional support during the most painful flare-ups, trying hospitalizations, and day-to-day challenges that my life as a young adult will surely bring.

The total cost of my service dog will be $28,530. To be matched with a dog and begin their training I must provide an initial $10,500 deposit. I have until my dog is fully trained to raise and pay the training cost in full. I have been granted $5,000 in financial aid from Doggie Does Good, the wonderful organization I am getting my dog through, but that still leaves me with over $10,000 in remaining costs. I will also pay for all of the travel and lodging from MN to CA for when my dog "graduates". At this time I'll be spending two weeks at Doggie Does Good's campus to learn how to be the best working team my service dog and I can be.

Thank you for taking the time to read a bit of my story. There is a long road ahead before I am united with my new best friend/lifesaver, and anything you are able to contribute helps :)