Islay’s service dog training

Hi my name is Emmi, I’m 19 and I’m fundraising for my service dog Islay to get training. I struggle with autism, anxiety, ptsd and an eating disorder. Back when the pandemic started in 2019 is when everything went down hill for me. I was hospitalized in Victoria and then had to travel to bc children’s hospital in Vancouver. I stayed at bc children’s and Ronald McDonald House on and off for the next 3 years until I turned 18. Since then I have been hospitalized in Victoria again. I got Islay in 2021 after my Doctor recommended a dog to help me with my anxiety. I wasn’t aware that I was autistic until last year. We then started the process of getting a diagnosis of autism and luckily got one at the beginning of 2024 ( it usually takes a lot longer to get one). Islay didn’t start training to become my service dog until she was about a year old and we started off self training her because we weren’t aware of the trainers in our area. Islay helps me with everyday life and I couldn’t get through without her. She helps detect when I’m getting overwhelmed or anxious and tells me to sit down and lies across my legs to do something called deep pressure therapy (DPT). This is her most used task but there are more we are training her to do. We need additional training for her that we just cannot do by ourselves. I am getting ready for an admission to a hospital in Vancouver and will need to board Islay with her new trainer to keep up her skills whilst I am away. Please help in anyway you can!