Miracle Paws Service Dog Fundraiser for Elli Shiva
Elli is a 28 year old woman from Ellsworth, Maine who requires the assistance of a Service Animal in her day to day life to assist her with a variety of neurological and physical disabilities and posttraumatic stress
Elli is a graduate of Mount Desert Island High School and the University of Maine's School of Social Work, and has a longstanding commitment to volunteering for social, economic, and environmental justice initiatives throughout Hancock and Penobscot County. Despite her complex array of disabilities, Elli hopes to one day achieve a career in animal-assisted and horticultural therapies.
For the past four years, Elli has worked diligently to train her own Service Dog to help her live and work independently as a Licensed Social Worker. Throughout this work she has developed a passion for working with animals, and now provides dog training assistance to other disabled individuals in need, hoping to become a volunteer dog trainer specializing in Assistance Animals for individuals with disabilities in addition to providing animal-assisted therapies.
Due to incredibly unfortunate circumstances, Elli's Medical Alert and Response Canine, Odin, swiftly and unexpectedly died of an intestinal perforation this July. She is beyond devastated, and is struggling greatly with this loss.
In her search for a new Service Dog prospect, Elli has been matched with a two-year-old Service Dog in Training named Koda who has a strong foundation of training in public access, psychiatric support, and medical alert and response. The normal cost of a fully-trained Service Dog can reach upwards of $50,000 and take two to four years to be paired with an assistance canine. She is blessed to be matched with a SDiT that will be ready to work for her and the cost is very reasonable, totaling around $5,500.00, in addition to the costs of completing his training
Having a Service Dog would greatly increase her quality of life. A Service Dog provides necessary assistance to help her accomplish her day to day activities by alerting to medical and neurological episodes when in public to ensure her safety and wellbeing, providing sensory buffering and physical support/counterbalancing during periods of sensory distress and intense vertigo, performing deep pressure therapy and grounding during medical episodes, and providing support with PTSD related night terrors and flashbacks.
Please consider donating today to help Elli cover the expenses of Koda's adoption and transport. It would mean the world to her to have the support that she needs to help her continue to be an active member of her community.