Fund Waffles’ Hip & Elbow Scoring for Assistance Dog Work

Hi, I’m Katie and I have an assistance dog in training called Waffles.

I live in the Scottish Highlands and my life is very limited because of living with multiple health conditions, including hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome with associated dysautomia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and autism. My daily activities are extremely limited, and I currently don’t go out without my partner except in very rare circumstances.

I desperately want to be well enough to work, and if that isn’t possible, I want to go back to education or volunteer. And if that isn’t possible, I at least want to live a more fulfilling, more independent life - which is where Waffles comes in.

Meet Waffles

Waffles is my 21 month old Golden Retriever and my assistance dog in training. He is super clever, quick to learn, and loves everyone. Some of his ‘loves’ include: carrying my car keys, ‘fur slugging’ on grass, dentachews, sniffing everything outside, dirty water (but only dirty water, for some reason), folding in half (don’t ask) his giant caterpillar toy, and carrying my phone.

We are currently training with Adolescent Dogs and working towards his Gold Assistance Dog Award (the final stage before his Public Access Test).

What Waffles Can Already Do to Help Me:

Waffles has already changed my life in so many ways. Some of his tasks include:

He is currently learning:

Why I Need Help

One of the most important tasks Waffles will hopefully learn is forward momentum pull. This means he would gently pull into a specialised harness with a handle attached to help me when I struggle with fatigue. This would make a huge difference in my ability to conserve energy and move around.

However, for safety and welfare reasons, Waffles cannot begin training this until he has had hip and elbow scoring to confirm his joints are healthy and suitable for this kind of work, and he must be over 2 years old. If his x-rays show he cannot safely learn this task then we won’t go ahead with it - his welfare always comes before my needs.

We have been quoted £450 for x-rays by our vet, and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) charges £145.50 for submission and scoring, bringing the total cost to £595.50. Unfortunately, this is simply unaffordable for me.

Why This Matters

This GoFundMe will enable Waffles to begin mobility training (providing his x-rays are good). If we reach our goal, then he will be x-rayed and they will be scored by the BVA. If they are good, we can begin mobility training. If they show he can’t do mobility training, then his welfare is a priority so we won’t train it.

If we don’t raise enough, I will try to cover the remaining cost myself (if I can afford it). If I can’t, I will use the funds towards our monthly training costs with Adolescent Dogs to continue his education in other assistance tasks.

If we raise more than required and his x-rays show he can begin mobility training, then I will put any extra towards a mobility harness with handle - they are very expensive. If we raise more than required and he cannot do mobility training, then I will use the extra to fund his ‘regular’ (non-mobility) assistance dog training with Adolescent Dogs.

Every Donation Helps

I don’t like asking for help and it’s taken a lot for me to set this up, but any donation is deeply appreciated (no matter how small). Waffles has already changed my life so much and with your help, he could help me regain even more independence.

Thank you so much for reading and for any support you can give. If you can’t afford to donate that’s completely fine, I appreciate your time anyway.

Katie and Waffles