Taylor Smith is fundraising
MS Service Dog Fund for AnneMarie
About This Campaign
My mom's name is AnneMarie Riether and she has Multiple Sclerosis. After being diagnosed in the early 1990s she has struggled with M.S. for more than 25 years. Recently, her disease has deteriorated, restricting her independence and mobility. For this reason, I am raising money for her to pay for a service dog. Please consider making a tax deductible donation today!
Why Now?
For many years, my mom had what was called relapsing-remitting M.S., characterized by periods of high and low activity. The disease switched back and forth between relapses, where it attacked the body more aggressively, and remissions, where symptoms would decrease.
In the past year however, my mom's MS has taken a turn for the worse, and she has been rediagnosed with the much more serious Secondary Progressive MS, where the disease steadily worsens rather than having periods of relapse and remission. In just this short time, her quality of life has already begun to worsen as her mobility and independence have decreased. Her lack of balance, muscle spasms and numbness cause her to fall often, resulting in multiple broken bones and other injuries. Considering both these dangers and the fact that she lives alone, I am constantly worried for her safety at home.
As part of her ongoing treatment, my mom's doctors have recommended her to obtain a mobility service dog. Such a dog would be able to assist her around the house and help her in times of emergency such as during a fall or other injury. For this reason, I am creating this campaign to help raise money so she can afford such a potentially life saving dog to be her new companion.
A Little More About My Mom
There are many reasons why my mom is my role model. Her entire life, my mom has dedicated her life to service. Before her MS forced her into an early retirement, my mom was an addiction psychiatrist that helped people get back on their feet. Today, she continues to help out everyone she meets through her volunteer work with the Civil Air Patrol and as an unpaid adjunct faculty member of the UNC Medical School, but recently her MS has begun interfering with her ability to volunteer.
My mom has always lived her life for others, giving them a helping hand in times of need. Today, I want to be the one to give her that helping hand.
How You Can Help
Service dogs are extremely expensive. Though our campaign goal is is around $9,000, the actual cost of a dog trained to help my mom exceeds $20,000. Given the high cost of her other medical treatments, which easily exceed $75,000 per year, it is simply not something she can afford on her own. Please consider sharing and/or donating whatever you can to our campaign.
You can help by donating a tax deductible gift of any amount through this page. All contributions will go directly to EENP who will send you a thank you note for your records. If you cannot give a financial donation, I understand. Please keep my mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers.
What is a Mobility Service Dog?
A Mobility Service Dog is able to assist individuals with mobility impairments with daily activities such as opening doors, retrieving items, and turning lights on. Additionally, they are able to help steady individuals with balance issues like my mom and can seek help or dial emergency services in the event of a medical emergency like a serious fall using a special phone that calls 911.
Service Dog partnerships encourage independence which, in turn, offers more opportunities, dignity, and privacy for people with mobility impairments. There are four dogs at EENP that have completed two plus years of training, and ready for placement this June. After waiting over two years, it is my hope to help my mom receive one of these dogs.
Who is EENP?
Eyes Ears Nose and Paws is a nonprofit organization that trains and places assistance dogs. Their programs create a healthier community by increasing independence for individuals with disabling medical conditions and mobility impairments, improving opportunities for individual control over medical care, and encouraging therapeutic interventions that improve physical and mental health.
All donations are tax deductible. The money goes directly to Eyes, Ears, Nose, Paws and they will send you a receipt for tax purposes.

More About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. It is thought to be an immune-mediated disorder, in which the immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue in the CNS.
MS can cause many symptoms, including blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, bladder control issues and incontinence, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more.
More Frequently Asked Questions about MS can be found on the National MS Society's website, here.
My mom's name is AnneMarie Riether and she has Multiple Sclerosis. After being diagnosed in the early 1990s she has struggled with M.S. for more than 25 years. Recently, her disease has deteriorated, restricting her independence and mobility. For this reason, I am raising money for her to pay for a service dog. Please consider making a tax deductible donation today!
Why Now?
For many years, my mom had what was called relapsing-remitting M.S., characterized by periods of high and low activity. The disease switched back and forth between relapses, where it attacked the body more aggressively, and remissions, where symptoms would decrease.
In the past year however, my mom's MS has taken a turn for the worse, and she has been rediagnosed with the much more serious Secondary Progressive MS, where the disease steadily worsens rather than having periods of relapse and remission. In just this short time, her quality of life has already begun to worsen as her mobility and independence have decreased. Her lack of balance, muscle spasms and numbness cause her to fall often, resulting in multiple broken bones and other injuries. Considering both these dangers and the fact that she lives alone, I am constantly worried for her safety at home.
As part of her ongoing treatment, my mom's doctors have recommended her to obtain a mobility service dog. Such a dog would be able to assist her around the house and help her in times of emergency such as during a fall or other injury. For this reason, I am creating this campaign to help raise money so she can afford such a potentially life saving dog to be her new companion.
A Little More About My Mom
There are many reasons why my mom is my role model. Her entire life, my mom has dedicated her life to service. Before her MS forced her into an early retirement, my mom was an addiction psychiatrist that helped people get back on their feet. Today, she continues to help out everyone she meets through her volunteer work with the Civil Air Patrol and as an unpaid adjunct faculty member of the UNC Medical School, but recently her MS has begun interfering with her ability to volunteer.
My mom has always lived her life for others, giving them a helping hand in times of need. Today, I want to be the one to give her that helping hand.
How You Can Help
Service dogs are extremely expensive. Though our campaign goal is is around $9,000, the actual cost of a dog trained to help my mom exceeds $20,000. Given the high cost of her other medical treatments, which easily exceed $75,000 per year, it is simply not something she can afford on her own. Please consider sharing and/or donating whatever you can to our campaign.
You can help by donating a tax deductible gift of any amount through this page. All contributions will go directly to EENP who will send you a thank you note for your records. If you cannot give a financial donation, I understand. Please keep my mom and our family in your thoughts and prayers.
What is a Mobility Service Dog?
A Mobility Service Dog is able to assist individuals with mobility impairments with daily activities such as opening doors, retrieving items, and turning lights on. Additionally, they are able to help steady individuals with balance issues like my mom and can seek help or dial emergency services in the event of a medical emergency like a serious fall using a special phone that calls 911.
Service Dog partnerships encourage independence which, in turn, offers more opportunities, dignity, and privacy for people with mobility impairments. There are four dogs at EENP that have completed two plus years of training, and ready for placement this June. After waiting over two years, it is my hope to help my mom receive one of these dogs.
Who is EENP?
Eyes Ears Nose and Paws is a nonprofit organization that trains and places assistance dogs. Their programs create a healthier community by increasing independence for individuals with disabling medical conditions and mobility impairments, improving opportunities for individual control over medical care, and encouraging therapeutic interventions that improve physical and mental health.
All donations are tax deductible. The money goes directly to Eyes, Ears, Nose, Paws and they will send you a receipt for tax purposes.
More About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. It is thought to be an immune-mediated disorder, in which the immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue in the CNS.
MS can cause many symptoms, including blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, bladder control issues and incontinence, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more.
More Frequently Asked Questions about MS can be found on the National MS Society's website, here.
- S
- C
- A
87 supporters
guidestar.org/profile/61-1436221