One of these amazing dogs will be my life-saving partner.

Rooster, Mandarina, Dreamer, Tomate or Papaya

Please help support me on the journey to connect with my next service dog!

 

 

Hello Friends,

 

My name is Marty, and I need your help. I’m raising funds to bring home my third cardiac alert service dog, a partner who will quite literally change my life.

This summer, my beloved service dog Hector retired after 10 incredible years by my side. While he still alerts me when he is nearby, he can no longer walk long distances. I’ve had to begin using an electric wheelchair and have discovered accessibility issues when I travel. The chair gives me mobility, but not the safety, security, and independence that a service dog provides.

 

I was born with acute malignant vasovagal neuro-cardiogenic syncope, a condition that caused me to faint daily and without warning, leading to concussions, broken bones, and severe restrictions to my ability to navigate the world. My service dogs, first Adele and then Hector, changed everything. Trained to detect changes in my heart before I even feel symptoms, they alerted me when it was time to sit, stand still or lie down, saving me again and again from life-threatening falls.

 

Cardiac alert service dogs not only let me know when to stop, but also when it’s safe to get up and move again. They retrieve items from the floor so I don’t risk falling, and when my heart is struggling, they lie under my legs to help the blood travel back to my heart. Because of my cardiac alert service dogs, I went from fainting every day to not fainting at all!

 

With my second service dog Hector’s retirement, it’s time for me to continue the journey with a new partner from Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Paws (EENP) in North Carolina. They specialize in alert dogs, and mine will be trained for cardiac alerts and to detect migraines, a condition I also struggle with, in advance. Another service skill EENP service dogs provide is Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT), where the dog lies across my body to help regulate my nervous system and decrease stress. EENP takes 2 years to train each potential service dog, working alongside the At Both Ends of The Leash (ABEL) prison program and generous volunteers. To learn more about these hero service dogs and their amazing trainers, please visit www.eenp.org.

 

Receiving a service dog isn’t as simple as being handed the leash. There’s a rigorous training process designed to build trust, teach us to work together, and set us up for years of successful partnership. That process requires a significant investment of time and resources, including:

 

• $20,000 placement fee for the dog

• $5,000 travel & accommodations for 16 days of on-site training for me. My husband Jeff, who is a high school teacher, will accompany me and provide support during the training.

Follow-up training 1 or 2 times a month for a year after graduation with flights between Boston and North Carolina.

Team Training begins on October 22, 2025. A few days into training, I will be placed with one of the dogs pictured above. Graduation is November 1, 2025, and will be available to watch online

 

This is why I need you! Every dollar raised will help cover these expenses and ensure I can safely, confidently, and independently live my life again. If we exceed the goal, the remainder after all expenses come in at the end of the first year, will be donated directly to EENP to support their incredible work.

 

If you’d like to learn more about my journey with Adele and Hector, you can watch our documentary Adele and Everything After on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, and other platforms.

 

In the movie, you can see what it’s like to go through team training, and how much energy, time, and how many resources it takes to form a working bond with a new service dog. I am eternally grateful to Canine Partners for Life (CPL), who are featured in the movie, for both Adele and Hector, and the decision to go with another organization wasn’t easily made. I hope all my CPL friends will stay in touch, as you have enhanced my life over these years.

 

From the bottom of my not-always-reliable heart, thank you for reading, sharing, and donating. With your help, I’ll soon be matched with my next life-saving hero.

 

Love,

Marty (and Hector the Happily Retired Service Dog)