A Service Dog for Meg
Donation protected
A Service Dog for Meg.
Meg is a delightful young lady, married to a Police Officer, and together they have two young children.
Twelve years ago Meg was diagnosed with an eating disorder. She had begun to turn things around when something very traumatic happened. Now not only was Meg struggling with severe chronic depression, but she was also dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Meg recently relapsed with her eating disorder and had to leave her home, her husband, a Chattanooga Police Officer, and two small children to go to a treatment facility for four months in a desperate quest to get better. Meg suffers from an eating disorder, chronic depression, severe anxiety, seizures and PTSD. The need for a service dog is essential.
A few weeks ago, Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary rescued a young Labrador Retriever puppy we call "Dave." It is believed that Dave had been contained in an outdoor kennel run for much of his life. He may not have been abused, but he was certainly neglected. Despite his upbringing, Dave is happy, he's motivated, and he's eager to please. Cheri Scandalis, the founder of Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary, strongly believes in the importance of training and immediately enrolled Dave in Private Lesson Training with Valor K9 Academy in Medical Lake, Washington.
In his first lesson, Valor K9 Academy's Head Trainer Amy Pishner saw something special in Dave and mentioned to Cheri that, with time and training, he has the potential to be a Service Dog. With this information, Dave underwent further testing and proved himself to be environmentally sound, social and sufficiently motivated for higher level training, and passed medical examination/x-rays, making him an eligible Service Dog candidate. Valor K9 Academy posted about Dave on their Facebook page, reaching out to anybody who may be in need. Meg responded to that post and, over the past two weeks, we've been working to bring Meg and "Dave" together.
Because of Meg's extensive medical treatments over the past few months, we are asking our community to help raise money and help support Meg's quest for a service dog. When we reach our goal we will arrange transport for "Dave" from Washington to Tennessee. Upon his arrival, Meg and "Dave" will start with Private Lesson Training with Valor K9 Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee then spend a few weeks together to ensure the two are a good fit for each other. After that, "Dave" will be enrolled in Valor K9's 30 Day Good Dog Board and Train program for Service Dog Foundation Training. This training includes Basic Obedience, Service Dog Task Commands, Manners Around People and Dogs, Socialization, Ongoing Exposure to new people, places, sights, sounds and surfaces for Behavior Generalization, as well as Off Leash Obedience and Recall Training. Towards the end of training, "Dave" will take the International Public Access Test and will be ready to function as a Service Dog. After graduation, Meg and "Dave" will take biweekly Private Lessons for five months to further work on Service Dog Tasks and Public Training.
Valor K9 Academy is offering a $450 training discount to help with Dave's training expenses. With transport fees and training fees, we are seeking to raise $3750.00.
Meg and her family will be donating to help cover costs and will be responsible for Dave's food, veterinary bills, training equipment and more. Any donation is appreciated! Thank you!
Our goal is to provide Meg with a fully-trained Service Dog by Christmas!
Meg is a delightful young lady, married to a Police Officer, and together they have two young children.
Twelve years ago Meg was diagnosed with an eating disorder. She had begun to turn things around when something very traumatic happened. Now not only was Meg struggling with severe chronic depression, but she was also dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Meg recently relapsed with her eating disorder and had to leave her home, her husband, a Chattanooga Police Officer, and two small children to go to a treatment facility for four months in a desperate quest to get better. Meg suffers from an eating disorder, chronic depression, severe anxiety, seizures and PTSD. The need for a service dog is essential.
A few weeks ago, Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary rescued a young Labrador Retriever puppy we call "Dave." It is believed that Dave had been contained in an outdoor kennel run for much of his life. He may not have been abused, but he was certainly neglected. Despite his upbringing, Dave is happy, he's motivated, and he's eager to please. Cheri Scandalis, the founder of Higher Ground Animal Sanctuary, strongly believes in the importance of training and immediately enrolled Dave in Private Lesson Training with Valor K9 Academy in Medical Lake, Washington.
In his first lesson, Valor K9 Academy's Head Trainer Amy Pishner saw something special in Dave and mentioned to Cheri that, with time and training, he has the potential to be a Service Dog. With this information, Dave underwent further testing and proved himself to be environmentally sound, social and sufficiently motivated for higher level training, and passed medical examination/x-rays, making him an eligible Service Dog candidate. Valor K9 Academy posted about Dave on their Facebook page, reaching out to anybody who may be in need. Meg responded to that post and, over the past two weeks, we've been working to bring Meg and "Dave" together.
Because of Meg's extensive medical treatments over the past few months, we are asking our community to help raise money and help support Meg's quest for a service dog. When we reach our goal we will arrange transport for "Dave" from Washington to Tennessee. Upon his arrival, Meg and "Dave" will start with Private Lesson Training with Valor K9 Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee then spend a few weeks together to ensure the two are a good fit for each other. After that, "Dave" will be enrolled in Valor K9's 30 Day Good Dog Board and Train program for Service Dog Foundation Training. This training includes Basic Obedience, Service Dog Task Commands, Manners Around People and Dogs, Socialization, Ongoing Exposure to new people, places, sights, sounds and surfaces for Behavior Generalization, as well as Off Leash Obedience and Recall Training. Towards the end of training, "Dave" will take the International Public Access Test and will be ready to function as a Service Dog. After graduation, Meg and "Dave" will take biweekly Private Lessons for five months to further work on Service Dog Tasks and Public Training.
Valor K9 Academy is offering a $450 training discount to help with Dave's training expenses. With transport fees and training fees, we are seeking to raise $3750.00.
Meg and her family will be donating to help cover costs and will be responsible for Dave's food, veterinary bills, training equipment and more. Any donation is appreciated! Thank you!
Our goal is to provide Meg with a fully-trained Service Dog by Christmas!
Organiser
Cheri Scandalis
Organiser
Mead, WA
