Help Rey & Kylo Finish Service Dog Training!

My name is Rey, I'm a 28 year old woman and I have POTS.

I wish I could tell you the origin of how I got POTS but I don't really know. It could be from severe childhood trauma having lasting affects of my nervous system. It could be because of an immune system crash I had in 2018... or it could be from getting the Covid 19 vaccine in 2020 (getting the vaccine and or getting covid gave millions of American women in their 20s-30s POTS). I don't know for 100% certain how I got it. All I know is it's disabled me for the last 4-6 years and I can't afford ALL my medical bills AND my service dog's final leg of training without help. In the 4-5 years it took me to get POTS diagnosed I went to the hospital 8 times, I took an ambulance 1x, I've seen at least 6 specialists, 2 different GPs, I've had a holter monitor, echocardiogram, MRI, CT scan, EEG, transvaginal ultra sound, biopsies and more. POTS is a dysautonomia condition which means it affects every part of my body that should naturally function on its own. This includes: blinking, breathing, swallowing, urinary and bowel movements, staying awake or asleep and of course... my heart rate. Every day since my early 20s I have experience bradycardia, tachycardia, arrhythmia, narcolepsy, neuropathy, seizures and more. The last year in particular I was having 11-14 seizures a day.

Getting sick took so much from me. It took the full use of my hands which was devastating because I'm an artist. It took my independence, my freedom, my sanity, my safety and in many ways it took my future...my ability to have a career...to work full time in person...to support myself...

I got Kylo out of sheer desperation when Doctors refused to provide me with care due to the lack of understanding they have about POTS and the lack of care that could even be provided if they did know more about it. At the time my husband was traveling to multiple states for weeks at a time for work leaving me home alone with no one to help me in emergencies or help me run errands. After a few scary incidents I knew a service dog was going to be beneficial to my life and condition.

Getting care is still hard, and at the end of the day POTS is currently incurable and life long. In 2023 I knew if I wanted / needed a service dog I'd have to get one as soon as possible so I could have independence in my 30s... and when I got Kylo, I knew I would have to do a GoFund me eventually for some of his training...but I did as much owner training as I could so I wouldn't have to fundraise $15,000-$20,000 like a lot of disabled people unfortunately have to do. But the time has come where I have reached my personal capacity with what I can accomplish training on my own. Its time to bring in a professional dog trainer with experience in service dog obedience.

Kylo is performing around 70% perfect in his tasks and obedience. We need to get him as close to 100% as possible in order to fully graduate him into service work and public access. Due to the nature of my condition being a physical disability with exercise and heat intolerance and dangerous consequences that happen when I experience stress....there are many things I can't safely train on my own and thats why I am hiring a trainer. I have decided a board and train program is what will work best for us given how far the trainer is from where we live and the intensity of training I am looking for. I have already found the trainer we will be working with and have paid a deposit for the program for August. Kylo will be doing a 3-4 week long program. The GoFund me amount of $3000 is the funds needed for a 4 week board and train.

Kylo is a 1.5 year old pitbull, lab, golden retriever mix I rescued. Because he is still a puppy he is still very malleable and this is a great age to put him into more intensive training. Kylo passed the Volhard temperament test as a puppy and was vetted by a trainer and deemed exceptionally smart and perfect for service work. Since I got Kylo on February 18th 2023 he has been training to be a POTS response service dog for me. To date Kylo knows and performs 5+ medical tasks including but not limited to bringing me my heart medicine, water, electrolytes and inhaler...performing DPT...picking up dropped items, and barking when I have seizures. Kylo knows about 30 verbal and hand commands relating to his medical tasks and obedience. When Kylo is 2 he will be looked at by a vet for clearance for light mobility work. Currently the areas Kylo needs work on are the following : working in front of other dogs, kids, masked people / people in costumes, Staying calm during his vesting, A looser heel when outside, Walking next to my wheelchair, Loading in and out of the car, and Long duration down stays.

The trainer we are working with will organize a training program based off our needs and hit all of these points during Kylo's board and train. With this training completed Kylo should be able to graduate by the end of 2024 and start working as a SD not a SDIT.

I don't enjoy asking for support for free ever so I do strongly encourage you if you're considering donating to my GoFund me to purchase some of my art instead. I will keep track of how much art I sell and I will stop the GoFund me when I have raised $3000 whether its through sales or a combination of sales and donations. However if you are comfortable contributing to our goal without getting anything in return... you're absolutely more than welcome to do so... and I just want you to know I appreciate you so so much. These past few years have been absurdly expensive just to get listened to and diagnosed. I have paid for ALL of my medical care and tests the past 6 years 100% by myself with out any help. I purchased my manual wheelchairs myself, I have worked with 2 other trainers, bought Kylo the best gear I could afford that he could need, a slat mill, a car accident proof crate, an e collar etc. a dehydrator to make our own treats and so much more. I'm just finally at my financially capacity for what I can take on alone given my condition. I have every faith that Kylo will graduate and succeed with this training so your donation will be directly benefiting me and my quality of life for the next 8 years (about how long a service dog works). I appreciate you so much for supporting us in this journey.

In the past I have done GoFundMe for medical expenses for some of my pets experiencing major medical emergencies (my cat Ocho's life saving FIP treatment, and my cat Stormie's life saving Pyometra surgery). This is the first time I have ever done a GoFundMe for my own medical expenses. In both prior cases half the money I raised was through art sales. I am willing once again to work for your donation, so please do check out my art at @pain_and_pixels on Instagram / TikTok / Etsy. I will be more than happy to provide you with something in exchange for your donation. <3