Hey everyone, I’m Alexa and I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in April 2025. Going gluten free out of necessity has forced an extreme change in lifestyle. I feel like I can’t leave my house anymore, can’t go out with friends, or go out and enjoy a meal with my fiancé for date night. Nothing is the same. I make every effort to be extremely careful, but somehow, I’m not careful enough, and have still ended up hospitalized due to cross-contamination. My Celiac disease is compounded by another autoimmune disease called Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome or, CVS. These flares can last up to days and are extremely draining and have caused my mental health to severely decline. While in one of my Celiac groups, I learned about gluten detection dogs. The beneficiary of one such dog explained how her canine partner helped her to finally get full relief from her symptoms. Having Celiac and CVS, I have to be extra vigilant. Even a tiny amount of cross contamination is dangerous, putting me in the hospital for days. Taking advantage of the information I gleaned off of the service dog handler in my group, I found a breeder who focuses on producing dogs who are genetically geared towards service dog work. Not long after, I brought little Athena home with the intent to train her as my gluten detection dog. I am grateful and humbled as I have seen people already come together, wanting to help. It is far easier to be the helper then the “helpee” I know I cannot continue on as I’ve been, due to the deterioration of my physical and mental health. My doctors and I believe that adding a gluten detection dog will improve my quality of life drastically. Thank you so much for your consideration. If I could humbly ask you to share my story, I would greatly appreciate it. 

 Thank you again, Alexa Ford