Help the Potts Family get a Seizure Response Dog

As many of you know, our 7 year old daughter, Sadie was diagnosed with Epilepsy a little over a year ago. She was officially diagnosed with BECTS (Benign partial epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes) and the prognosis is good. However, due to the nature of her seizures we are in the process of obtaining a Seizure Response dog. The cost for this dog is high, but the amount of help it will provide to our family far outweighs the cost.

Currently, Sadie is averaging 2 seizures per month. These seizures can happen at any time of the day or night, so we are constantly on the watch. This means that when she naps or goes to bed at night we are watching her via video monitor for signs of seizure. When Aaron and I go to bed at night, we bring her into our room to sleep right next to us so that we can be there for her if she has one. The other difficult piece to this is that her seizures could potentially go unnoticed due to the way the seizures present themselves. She has had episodes while roller skating, jumping on the trampoline, riding her bike, coloring on the floor; thankfully, we have always been present when she has had one, but it makes going on a date or allowing her some independence VERY difficult. She requires a constant watchful eye. As a child, this can be very frustrating for Sadie. She is already very independent and responsible, and desires some autonomy from us. This is where the Seizure Response dog comes in.

Seizure Response dogs are trained to alert and get help when their owner is having a seizure. Our dog will be enrolled in a year-long board and train program in Lewiston, Idaho with Bowen Elite Service Dogs. https://boweneliteservicedogs.com

Here he will be taught how to know that Sadie is having a seizure and how to alert us to come help. Some dogs even instinctively know when a seizure is coming (up to 24 hours prior!) due to an odor that the body is giving off. It’s really a miracle! We have chosen a Mini Goldendoodle, which is a combination of two breeds: the Golden Retriever and a mini Poodle. These two breeds are both excellent seizure response dogs, with Golden Retrievers being the best of the best. Our choice is largely due to the size of our home and needing a small, hypo-allergenic dog.

For us, this is an answer to prayer. This would allow Sadie to have a normal life where she doesn’t have her parents constantly watching her every move. It would also allow Aaron and I the peace of mind knowing that we or any caregiver will be alerted if Sadie is in need of medical help. The dog would be considered a service dog and would go everywhere with us; even to school with Sadie!

Please consider donating to help us meet our goal. We have already started the training process and are believing God to provide this much needed support. Thank you for coming alongside us in the process. We deeply appreciate you!