Allergy Service Dog for Fredrika
Donation protected
Help me get a Peanut Sniffing Dog!
I was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy at the age of 6 after years of suffering from (luckily) minor reactions. Fifteen years later, my allergy has not only grown in severity but also progressed to affecting my education and social life. (Things I cannot do: travel via airplane or train, walk into restaurants/bars, buy food without reading ingredients, go to a majority of sports games, sit in crowded cafeterias, etc.)
After years of research, I have finally found some sort of a solution: an Allergy Service Dog. It's exactly what it sounds like--a highly trained dog with the capabilty of sniffing out peanuts in busy restaurants, full classrooms, on public buses, and even on the hands, body, or mouth of a person I am interacting with.
Seeing as the majority of my struggle with the allergy is socially (I have learned how to avoid food and certain situations where I may come across peanuts), an Allergy Service Dog would lessen the load I am burdened to carry. Not only would it make me feel more comfortable in public, the dog would also be a certification and/or proof of my allergy for those whom I meet who think I am making my allergy up for attention.
There is a flaw in this plan, however. A Service Dog is expensive, especially because Allergy Service Dogs are relatively unknown and do not receive much support. I am a college student who does not have much money.
I am asking for the help from family, friends, and strangers to support me in my next step in life and this leap towards confidence. I really could not do it without you.
I was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy at the age of 6 after years of suffering from (luckily) minor reactions. Fifteen years later, my allergy has not only grown in severity but also progressed to affecting my education and social life. (Things I cannot do: travel via airplane or train, walk into restaurants/bars, buy food without reading ingredients, go to a majority of sports games, sit in crowded cafeterias, etc.)
After years of research, I have finally found some sort of a solution: an Allergy Service Dog. It's exactly what it sounds like--a highly trained dog with the capabilty of sniffing out peanuts in busy restaurants, full classrooms, on public buses, and even on the hands, body, or mouth of a person I am interacting with.
Seeing as the majority of my struggle with the allergy is socially (I have learned how to avoid food and certain situations where I may come across peanuts), an Allergy Service Dog would lessen the load I am burdened to carry. Not only would it make me feel more comfortable in public, the dog would also be a certification and/or proof of my allergy for those whom I meet who think I am making my allergy up for attention.
There is a flaw in this plan, however. A Service Dog is expensive, especially because Allergy Service Dogs are relatively unknown and do not receive much support. I am a college student who does not have much money.
I am asking for the help from family, friends, and strangers to support me in my next step in life and this leap towards confidence. I really could not do it without you.
Organizer
Fredrika Unander-Scharin
Organizer
Clifton, VA
