My name is Em Mais, and I need your help in raising the money needed to bring home my next service dog.

For the last 7 years, my service dog Quinn has assisted me in navigating life with multiple rare health conditions and allowed me to remain independent and accomplish things I would never have been able to on my own. While Quinn is still happy working, and I hope she will continue to be for at least the next year or two, service dogs generally retire between 8 and 10 years old. Because of their extensive training, it takes an average of 2 years and $20,000+ to fully train a service dog, so it’s important that I start this process as soon as I can. I was lucky to successfully owner-train my first service dog, and I am planning to owner-train a second time, but with a little more support this time around.

While owner training is more affordable, it will still cost roughly $10,000. Any support you can provide makes a huge difference!

Background:

Service dogs are defined by the ADA as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities… The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.” Some of the tasks that I benefit from include: mobility assistance (pulling my wheelchair, providing counterbalance, etc), medical alerts, item retrieval (medication, dropped items, water, phone, etc), carrying items, opening and closing doors, finding places or people, and more.

In 2016, I was diagnosed with a form of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic disorder that causes joint hypermobility and instability, fragile skin that breaks and bruises easily, chronic pain and fatigue, and brain fog. Like many people with EDS, I have numerous co-occurring disorders and complications including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, mast cell disorders (MCAS & HaTS), gastrointestinal dysmotility and malabsorption, cardiovascular abnormalities, and multiple mental health conditions.

Additionally, in 2018, I was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP). CIDP is a rare autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the myelin that insulates and protects your body's nerves, this causes progressive peripheral weakness, difficulty with coordination and balance, sensory disturbances (tingling, numbness, burning), decreased fine motor control, and nerve pain.

I am incredibly lucky to have access to amazing medical providers who have been able to provide accurate diagnoses and have continually worked to create plans that allow me to remain as independent as possible. With the right combination of medications, IV nutrition and hydration, mobility aids, and therapies, along with a lot of support from friends and family, adjusting my expectations, and Quinn’s consistent and nearly constant presence, I have been able to build an amazing life for myself. I am currently a second-year master's student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with a focus on providing affirming care to folks from marginalized and underserved communities. Outside of school, I work multiple part-time jobs and enjoy using my little bit of free time to see folks in my life, explore nature, listen to music, read/research, and attend community events. Having a service dog is a key piece of what allows me to remain independent and pursue the life I want.

Because of their extensive training, service dogs are incredibly expensive. The average cost of a service dog from a program is $20,000 or more, and unfortunately, insurance does not cover any costs associated with obtaining or maintaining a service dog. While it is still expensive, owner training can be a much more cost-effective option and was the route I took with Quinn's training (with the exception of some task training and her final testing which was done through a training organization). I am hoping to take a similar approach a second time, but with some additional training support, but even with trying to minimize the amount I spend in this process, I am still anticipating it costing roughly $10,000 in the first two years. I was lucky enough when I got Quinn to be in a place where I was able to complete her training without asking for support in this way. But a number of changes have happened in my life over the last several years (including starting grad school, a significant decline in my overall health as my disorders progress, increased medical expenses, moving across the country, and more) and I need a lot more support from the community in order to make this happen.

Any support that you are able to provide to help me meet my goal makes a huge difference in my ability to bring home my next service dog and continue building an independent life.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for all of your love and support!