Cardiac Service Dog for Haley Elmhorst
Donation protected
My name is Haley Elmhorst, and I have spent the past several years of my life disabled by a condition known as Dysautonomia. After speaking with my doctors, family, and friends, we have decided to get a service dog to help mitigate my disability and provide me with more independence and freedom.
MY STORY
My battle with Dysautonomia started back in 2017 when I randomly started having pre-syncope and syncope episodes (syncope=passing out). At first, we brushed it off as a fluke episode but the frequency and intensity started to become more severe. By the summer of 2017, I was having pre-syncope episodes up to 30+ times a day. My heart rate upon standing was over 130bpm and would raise to 160-200bpm with any type of activity. After a few months, I was forced to leave my job due to being unable to stand, bend, lift, or cognitively think properly to perform my job duties.
Finally, in the Fall of 2017 I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia, more specifically, a condition known as POTS. Since then, we have tried and failed almost every treatment available for POTS. While some treatments have helped to mitigate some of the disabling symptoms, I am still very disabled by my condition.
Learn more about POTS here: https://vimeo.com/dysautonomia/pots
HOW WILL A SERVICE DOG HELP?
As mentioned earlier, my doctors, family, and friends have all agreed that a service dog is the best next step in my treatment plan. Dogs can be trained to perform many tasks to assist with POTS. Some of the tasks my service dog will be trained in are;
- Cardiac alert (alert to elevated heart rate to prevent syncope)
- Syncope response
- Mobility assistance (the dog will provide forward momentum pull to help with extreme fatigue and counterbalance for dizzy episodes),
- Wheelchair assistance (pushing handicap buttons, picking up dropped items, wheelchair pull)
- Deep Pressure Therapy (the dog will use its body weight to push blood flow from my legs back up into my vital organs)
- And more!
Although POTS is my most debilitating condition, the service dog will also be assisting with my other disabilities such as OCD and Tourette Syndrome.
THE COST
As you may guess, a service dog who is trained to assist this type of disability requires a LOT of training. Because of this, the expense of a service dog is very high, and unfortunately, the large service dog programs that donate service dogs, mainly only donate to PTSD veterans, blind, or deaf individuals. However, we believe the cost will be worth it to provide me safety and independence.
I have decided to go with a program that puppy raises the dog until it is 8mo old. The professional trainer will be setting a good foundation, obedience, and starting on task work. The cost of this program is $15,000. After the dog is 8mo old, I will receive the dog and finish the training myself while still working with my trainer via skype.
The $15,000 will cover;
Cost of a puppy (from a high-end breeder, good genetics and history of good service dogs)
Vet care
Food
Supplies
6mo of day and night training
Boarding fees
Etc
I have already submitted the first $5,000 down payment and just need the remaining $10,000 before March 2021 (when I go to pick up the dog!). I have been saving over half my income for months and months now to afford this pup and wanted to be able to pay for everything myself. However, I realized after looking at the numbers, that despite my best efforts, I will not have the remaining $10,000 plus be able to pay all of my bills by March ‘21.
WHEN WILL I GET THE SERVICE DOG?
If everything goes as planned, my trainer will be temperament testing the litter of puppies on August 30th. If one of the dogs in that litter fits my needs, then the puppy will be brought home to the trainer the following week. The puppy will then train in the trainer’s home for 6mo. Around the beginning of March 2021, I will fly to Washington DC to do a week-long intensive training session with the trainer. I will learn how to handle the service dog and how to continue his training. After that, I will bring home my service dog for the first time!
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT ME
If you feel led to support my cause, any amount of money is greatly appreciated! However, I know times are really tough for people financially right now, so please do not feel obligated if that is not something you can do at this time. If you can not donate, please consider sharing this GoFundMe on your social media to share my story.
MY STORY
My battle with Dysautonomia started back in 2017 when I randomly started having pre-syncope and syncope episodes (syncope=passing out). At first, we brushed it off as a fluke episode but the frequency and intensity started to become more severe. By the summer of 2017, I was having pre-syncope episodes up to 30+ times a day. My heart rate upon standing was over 130bpm and would raise to 160-200bpm with any type of activity. After a few months, I was forced to leave my job due to being unable to stand, bend, lift, or cognitively think properly to perform my job duties.
Finally, in the Fall of 2017 I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia, more specifically, a condition known as POTS. Since then, we have tried and failed almost every treatment available for POTS. While some treatments have helped to mitigate some of the disabling symptoms, I am still very disabled by my condition.
Learn more about POTS here: https://vimeo.com/dysautonomia/pots
HOW WILL A SERVICE DOG HELP?
As mentioned earlier, my doctors, family, and friends have all agreed that a service dog is the best next step in my treatment plan. Dogs can be trained to perform many tasks to assist with POTS. Some of the tasks my service dog will be trained in are;
- Cardiac alert (alert to elevated heart rate to prevent syncope)
- Syncope response
- Mobility assistance (the dog will provide forward momentum pull to help with extreme fatigue and counterbalance for dizzy episodes),
- Wheelchair assistance (pushing handicap buttons, picking up dropped items, wheelchair pull)
- Deep Pressure Therapy (the dog will use its body weight to push blood flow from my legs back up into my vital organs)
- And more!
Although POTS is my most debilitating condition, the service dog will also be assisting with my other disabilities such as OCD and Tourette Syndrome.
THE COST
As you may guess, a service dog who is trained to assist this type of disability requires a LOT of training. Because of this, the expense of a service dog is very high, and unfortunately, the large service dog programs that donate service dogs, mainly only donate to PTSD veterans, blind, or deaf individuals. However, we believe the cost will be worth it to provide me safety and independence.
I have decided to go with a program that puppy raises the dog until it is 8mo old. The professional trainer will be setting a good foundation, obedience, and starting on task work. The cost of this program is $15,000. After the dog is 8mo old, I will receive the dog and finish the training myself while still working with my trainer via skype.
The $15,000 will cover;
Cost of a puppy (from a high-end breeder, good genetics and history of good service dogs)
Vet care
Food
Supplies
6mo of day and night training
Boarding fees
Etc
I have already submitted the first $5,000 down payment and just need the remaining $10,000 before March 2021 (when I go to pick up the dog!). I have been saving over half my income for months and months now to afford this pup and wanted to be able to pay for everything myself. However, I realized after looking at the numbers, that despite my best efforts, I will not have the remaining $10,000 plus be able to pay all of my bills by March ‘21.
WHEN WILL I GET THE SERVICE DOG?
If everything goes as planned, my trainer will be temperament testing the litter of puppies on August 30th. If one of the dogs in that litter fits my needs, then the puppy will be brought home to the trainer the following week. The puppy will then train in the trainer’s home for 6mo. Around the beginning of March 2021, I will fly to Washington DC to do a week-long intensive training session with the trainer. I will learn how to handle the service dog and how to continue his training. After that, I will bring home my service dog for the first time!
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT ME
If you feel led to support my cause, any amount of money is greatly appreciated! However, I know times are really tough for people financially right now, so please do not feel obligated if that is not something you can do at this time. If you can not donate, please consider sharing this GoFundMe on your social media to share my story.
Organizer
Haley Elmhorst
Organizer
Plover, WI