I need a new Service Dog
Donation protected
First of all THANK YOU for taking the time to visit this page. My current Service Dog is well into retirement age and can no longer perform certain tasks that I need her to do. It is time that she is allowed to just be a dog.
I have Severe Complex PTSD and Bipolar Disorder. Since Sadie came into my life as my Service Dog I have had so many doors opened to me that never would have been opened. Places that terrorized me before (large crowds, malls, etc) became accessible to me. The first time I started to have a flashback she started pounding on my chest until I fully connected with her, thus grounding me in the present and thereby diffusing the situation - she does similar things when an anxiety attack is incoming. She's knows that I am going to have an anxiety attack before I do! She will paw at me and let me know I need to remove myself from a situation when I am getting anxious.
These are only 3 of the many things she did for me (waking me up from night terrors or nightmares, forcing me out of bed to walk and feed her when I am gripped by depression, telling me when to take my meds , alerting me when I was driving anxiously/recklessly b/c I was anxious or manic). Other tasks, or explanations of tasks can be found here.
Now this amount is no where near how much it will cost me to adopt, fix, train, and buy equipment (vest and patches) for my new Service Dog, but it will help. Adoption fees are $175, the low cost spay & neuter clinic told me it would cost $115. Then there is training. $10 per session of one on one training. Now some of the specialized training I will do myself, though Sadie never needed to be trained to alert me to any of the PTSD/Bipolar things.
But Service Dogs need to be especially well trained at day to day life (Sadie does not chase squirrels in her vest and though she is prone to running off when she doesn't have her vest on she never does with it on even though I have dropped the leash many times.) Also, though not required, the ADA prefers that all Service Dogs pass the Canine Good Citizenship test.
In any case I wish I could offer something in return, but my meager wages from my part time job and my disability cheques don't give me much wiggle room. All I can offer is my eternal thanks and let you know that this helps me in ways that you cannot imagine.
I have Severe Complex PTSD and Bipolar Disorder. Since Sadie came into my life as my Service Dog I have had so many doors opened to me that never would have been opened. Places that terrorized me before (large crowds, malls, etc) became accessible to me. The first time I started to have a flashback she started pounding on my chest until I fully connected with her, thus grounding me in the present and thereby diffusing the situation - she does similar things when an anxiety attack is incoming. She's knows that I am going to have an anxiety attack before I do! She will paw at me and let me know I need to remove myself from a situation when I am getting anxious.
These are only 3 of the many things she did for me (waking me up from night terrors or nightmares, forcing me out of bed to walk and feed her when I am gripped by depression, telling me when to take my meds , alerting me when I was driving anxiously/recklessly b/c I was anxious or manic). Other tasks, or explanations of tasks can be found here.
Now this amount is no where near how much it will cost me to adopt, fix, train, and buy equipment (vest and patches) for my new Service Dog, but it will help. Adoption fees are $175, the low cost spay & neuter clinic told me it would cost $115. Then there is training. $10 per session of one on one training. Now some of the specialized training I will do myself, though Sadie never needed to be trained to alert me to any of the PTSD/Bipolar things.
But Service Dogs need to be especially well trained at day to day life (Sadie does not chase squirrels in her vest and though she is prone to running off when she doesn't have her vest on she never does with it on even though I have dropped the leash many times.) Also, though not required, the ADA prefers that all Service Dogs pass the Canine Good Citizenship test.
In any case I wish I could offer something in return, but my meager wages from my part time job and my disability cheques don't give me much wiggle room. All I can offer is my eternal thanks and let you know that this helps me in ways that you cannot imagine.
Organizer
Burrow T Klown
Organizer
Fargo, ND
