Becky and Tom's Urgent Need for a Service Dog

My daughter is Becky Penders, who is 26 years old. She loves baseball (she plays baseball), chocolate, chicken nuggets, swimming, music, school, and the Wiggles.

I am Tom Penders, the father to Becky. I am a professional archaeologist employed by the US Space Force, FSU alum, Star Wars fanatic, baseball and football fan, and a native of Titusville, Florida.

Thule Penders was our retired service dog. He was an English Cream Golden Retriever and was also an epilepsy seizure alert and autism support dog. He passed away a year ago. Also, our need for a service dog has changed. I, along with my daughter, now need a dog.

My daughter has epilepsy, and her seizures occur 99% of the time at night when we sleep. Until we had a service dog that alerts us, my wife and I slept in 4-hour shifts. We need a service dog to control Becky’s autism-related meltdowns, especially in public. Becky is also blind and needs a dog that will keep her from walking into a situation where she might get hurt and stop self-injury as well.

I am Type II Diabetic and need a blood sugar alert dog.

In 2019, I had sepsis twice, and both times it went to my brain. I almost died both times and was left with brain damage, unable to walk. I spent 5 months in the hospital and a month in a rehab facility. Two years ago, I had a stroke. In 2019 and 2021, I had a series of amputations and lost both feet. I have prosthetics but spend 60% of my time in a wheelchair. The past 3 years have left me with PTSD. I have night terrors which result in my falling out of bed.

The intangibles of having a service dog: Until 2013, when Thule arrived, Becky never would participate in Christmas, Halloween, or Easter. She would have meltdowns due to being overwhelmed. We never had “normal” holidays until Thule. Now she LOVES Santa, Halloween, and the Easter Bunny!!!! Becky is able to participate in baseball and other activities without having behavior issues. We were never able to go on trips, especially long ones, due to meltdowns. We sleep 8 hours a night. Less time missed from work.

We have chosen Jeremy Dulebohn of Dulebohn Dog Training in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He has almost 30 years of experience in training dogs. He trained our former service dog, Thule. He is familiar with Becky’s issues (and mine). We have known Jeremy for 12 years, and he has ALWAYS been available to answer questions we had regarding Thule!