Watching someone you love lose their service dog is heartbreaking in ways that are hard to explain. Betty was far more than a pet to Ashe, she was an essential part of how Ashe safely navigated daily life while living with severe chronic illnesses and disabilities. Betty provided stability, independence, emotional grounding, and safety during some of the hardest years imaginable.

After losing Betty, it became very clear just how much support she truly provided every single day.

Ashe lives with multiple disabling medical conditions including spinal injuries, severe chronic pain, fibromyalgia, POTS, PNES episodes, chronic pelvic pain, and major mobility limitations from hip dysplasia and ongoing hip surgeries. Simple tasks that many people take for granted can become physically dangerous, exhausting, or impossible without assistance.

Now, a new puppy named Kiyah has entered Ashe’s life, and the hope is that she can eventually become a fully trained service dog.

Right now, Kiyah is beginning with basic obedience, socialization, and foundational puppy training. Over time, the goal is to pursue specialized service dog training so she can learn important medical and mobility-related tasks. This includes retrieval work, balance and stability assistance, response tasks during medical episodes, grounding support, and helping reduce the physical strain that worsens Ashe’s conditions.

The difficult reality is that service dogs are incredibly expensive. A fully trained service dog from a program can easily cost $25,000 or more, and many programs have waitlists that stretch for years. For someone with multiple disabilities and complex medical needs, obtaining a program-trained dog is often financially out of reach.

Instead, we're pursuing owner training with professional guidance. This approach gives Kiyah the opportunity to learn tasks specifically tailored to Ashe's individual needs while spreading costs out over time. However, it is still a significant financial commitment.

The goal is to work with professional trainers through one-on-one lessons, public access training, task training, evaluations, classes, equipment, and all of the other expenses that come with raising and training a service dog prospect. In addition, Ashe still has major hip surgeries and recovery periods ahead. During those times, Kiyah will need professional boarding and training so her education can continue while Ashe focuses on healing.

While we estimate that approximately $10,000 could help cover professional service dog training and another $5,000 could help cover boarding and training during surgical recoveries, there is intentionally no final fundraising goal. Service dog training is an ongoing process, and every additional dollar allows for more training opportunities, more professional support, and a better chance of success for Kiyah as a future working dog.

Every contribution, no matter the size, helps build a stronger foundation for Kiyah's future and helps bring Ashe one step closer to regaining the independence, safety, and support that Betty once provided.