<div>Karli and Daryl’s incredible son, Zakkary, faces extraordinary challenges every day as he lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. These conditions require constant care, and the family frequently travels to Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary to manage his needs.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Today, on Zakkary's 7th birthday, we are launching this GoFundMe campaign to help bring life-changing support to him and his family. This special milestone serves as a reminder of the resilience and strength Zakkary shows every day, and we hope to give him the gift of greater independence and safety.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Zakkary is a sweet, intelligent boy who loves lining up Fisher Price figures, jumping on his trampoline, and spending time with his younger brother, Parker, when he’s feeling well. But his daily life is far from easy. He sleeps 15-20 hours a day, takes four anticonvulsant medications twice daily along with supplements, and faces sensory challenges that make everyday activities—like eating and attending school—extremely difficult. His modified school program allows him to attend for just 1-2 hours 4 days a week, but even this leaves him exhausted. He is also at high risk for SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy), a constant source of worry for the family.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why a Service Dog?</strong>
</div>
<div>After a lengthy application process, Zakkary’s family has been approved to receive a service dog from Aspen Service Dogs (<a href="https://aspenservicedogs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://aspenservicedogs.com/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://aspenservicedogs.com/</a></a>). This will be life-changing for Zakkary and his family. The specially trained Labrador Retriever will take two years to complete training and will provide both Autism and medical response support. For Zakkary, this means:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Calming him when agitated
</li>
<li>Assisting with sensory regulation and reducing anxiety
</li>
<li>Alerting during seizures and helping him recover afterward
</li>
<li>Providing companionship and safety, preventing bolting or self-harming behaviors
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The dog will be trained not only to respond to Zakkary’s needs but also to give Karli and Daryl peace of mind, knowing they have an extra set of “hands” to help keep him safe.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The Goal:</strong>
</div>
<div>The estimated cost for the service dog and related expenses is roughly $40,000. This includes, but is not limited to:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>$25,000 for autism-specific training
</li>
<li>$5,000 for epilepsy-specific training
</li>
<li>A week of hands-on family training in Edmonton
</li>
<li>A week of training at home with the trainer
</li>
<li>Ongoing costs like insurance, vet visits, and food
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As family members of Karli, Daryl, Zakkary, and Parker, we see firsthand how resilient and strong they are. They face many daily challenges but never complain, always trying to find blessings in their day-to-day lives. We are asking for assistance on behalf of the family because they would never ask for help themselves. The costs of managing their daily lives—along with traveling to Calgary regularly—are adding up. With the additional expenses of adding a service dog to their family, we’ve turned to GoFundMe to help offset these significant costs and provide Zakkary with the support he needs to thrive.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>How You Can Help:</strong>
</div>
<div>Any contribution, big or small, will help bring this life-changing support to Zakkary. If donating isn’t possible, sharing this campaign with friends and family would mean the world. Together, we can help Zakkary gain more independence and improve his quality of life.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Thank You:</strong>
</div>
<div>Your kindness and generosity will make all the difference for Zakkary, Karli, Daryl, and Parker. Thank you for being part of their journey toward a brighter, safer future.
</div>

Leslie. and Joe Meli

Lori Andreachuk

Tony Mrak

Anonymous

Katie Antulov

Ashley Meli

Jennifer Scherer

Chantel Tillsley

Carmen Wheeler

Riccardo Magliocco

Modern Aesthetics

Carla Ferrari

Fletcher Jackie

Shylo Harvey

Cameron MacLeod

Robyn Morton

Lesley Egger

Christie Schipper

Robin Hyland

Help Zakkary Get an Autism-Epilepsy Service Dog

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Zakkary Get an Autism-Epilepsy Service Dog

Still $18,809 to go. Help us build momentum.