Please help Ciara get a service dog!

Hello! We are Ashley and Kieran Reynolds. We are starting this GoFundMe page for our daughter. Our family is trying to get enough money together to get a service dog for her. The agency we are working with is kind and realistic enough to know we can not come up with the roughly $25,000 needed to breed, behavior screen, and train a dog (and us) in multiple skills, immediately. Not to mention, vet care and pet insurance. Even so, we still need financial help in order to make payments, throughout two years, as we go along our service dog journey.

Service dogs have been called angels on four paws, sent to guide us through life’s toughest challenges and we could use that right now. Frankly, the last year and a half has not been kind to our child. She was bullied so severely at her previous school that some doctors suggested we file for assault and battery. She now has a Complex PTSD diagnosis and all that entails. Additionally , our daughter suffers from Ehlers - Danlos Syndrome, which is a connective tissue disorder. ( Ciara is adopted and we have very little medical history about her biological parents.) EDS affects her skin , joints , gastro - intestinal tract and blood vessels. Ciara also suffers from Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), where her body can’t keep her blood pressure steady. We share this with you, not to sensationalize what she’s been through, but to illustrate her life at present. Ciara has begun fainting more often. This past month alone she has had one fainting spell that led to ( yet another) concussion, two sprained ankles, a sprained wrist and and two allergic reactions. Nevertheless, through the headaches, mood swings, aching joints, fatigue, brain fog, blurry vision, dizziness, anxiety, disturbed sleep , chest pain, and nausea our child gets up and tries again. Every. Damn. Day.

Although she is now distrustful of the world and peers, her love, curiosity and connection with animals is evident and has kept her going through her darkest hours. She yearns for connection , but is often too vigilant to focus on the person she is with. Ciara wants to be independent. However, when she faints, has an allergic reaction, hurts yet another joint, or has an anxiety attack her confidence and self worth are chipped away. To be blatantly honest, we cannot be with her all the time - nor does she want us to be. It is impossible to constantly be by her side now , nor in her future.

The service dog owners we interviewed have said things such as “ I couldn’t have gotten myself to college without my dog.” “My dog tells me I’m going to faint before I go down.” “Now I can go shopping.” “ She is my furry friend and constant companion.” We want our daughter to be confident she can do simple things such as take a shower on her own, go shopping, make a friend and look forward to future endeavors. A service dog will change our little girl’s quality of life in the present and going forward.

Ciara’s service dog will be specifically “tailored” to help with her emotional and physical challenges. We are blessed to have found someone that truly understands our daughter’s needs and is a talented trainer/ dog professional. The tasks and commands that this dog will be able to carry out will simultaneously fit Ciara’s disabilities and the dog’s personality / skill set.

As you can imagine, it has been difficult for Kieran to work as much as he would like to since much of his time has been used taking our daughter to and from appointments for different therapies. We are grateful that we have health insurance, we would be devastated without it. However, insurance does not help with a service dog. Additionally, therapies such as ; art therapy, chiropractor, POTS exercise coach and equine therapy are not covered by our insurance. Although this may sound trivial; co-pays add up as do bills for walking boots, splints, compression clothing and even parking!

All of us have been floored by how supportive family and friends have been for us during this difficult time. To learn that there is indeed support and kindness “out there” gives up hope that a GoFundMe page will lead to some assistance for our family.

Please know we are turning over every “ financial rock” we can find to pay for this. Down to selling old silver and of course lego! Contributions will go to the specialized service dog program, Ruff Translating. (https://www.rufftranslating.com) We are forever grateful for any amount that you can spare. Presently, we are aiming for the initial $5,000.00 to help us with breeding, testing, potty training, crate training, clicker training, and transition from the breeder to our home environment. Your donation will ensure that we’ve been able to give Ciara the leg up and chance she deserves.

Gratefully,

The Reynolds