For many years, Kristi has been dealing with a progressively longer and longer list of disabilities/serious health problems that have made everyday life extremely difficult. With a recent and crushing diagnosis, independence for her has become only a dream. It has been devastating and life-changing for both the bride and groom. A service dog would not only help her manage daily life, but also give her much of her life back - including her independence. We can’t express how much getting her a service dog would mean to both the bride and groom! It’s the very best gift you could give us.

The Cost

Service dogs are not cheap. They require a high level of training to be fully certified as a service dog, a process that takes at least a couple years from the time the dog is a puppy.

Service dogs must first be raised from a puppy to a one year old before they can begin specialized service dog training - including all of the usual training (sit, stay, down, etc.). After that, they are trained to fill their specialized role, which in Kristi’s case will be both a Mobility Assistance dog and Psychiatric Service dog; this will take about a year. Finally, the dog and new owner are trained together to personalize commands and service to the owner’s specific needs. As you can see, it’s an intensive process.

We have searched around several organizations that train service dogs and the price has consistently been in the ballpark of $20,000 for a fully trained service dog. This cost covers the purchase of the dog, the housing during training, training, and certification.

We have already raised over $2,000 thanks to our fans and friends from our Tiktok and Twitch streams, so we are looking for another $18,000.

If we somehow exceeded our goal, the rest of the funds would pay for the dog’s upkeep. Food, supplies, and most importantly, treats!

Invisible Disabilities

Look at the photo of the happy couple. Do you see two disabled people pushing through pain and fatigue or two young, healthy people? The reality is that most disabilities are invisible. Chronic pain, fatigue, balance issues, vision issues, hearing loss, loss of sensation, weakness, and many mental illnesses can all be hidden by a smile and healthy complexion.

Imagine your day to day life and how hard it can be some days just to get out of bed, let alone deal with everything life throws at you. Then think about wearing a 5 lb weight on your back all the time; it doesn't sound like much, right? It's only 5 lbs. But then think about that weight being a constant whenever you bend over to pick something up, climb stairs, walk places, get up from bed or a chair or get in and out of your car, go exercise, go out with friends or family, go to work, buy groceries, volunteer, spend "time" with your partner, and even sleeping. How long would it take for everyday things to be exhausting, miserable, or even impossible to do? How long would you wish, more than anything, that you could take the weight off for just an hour or two? Now increase the weight: 10 lbs. 20 lbs. 50 lbs. Even 100 lbs. That's what it's like to live with a physical disability or chronic disease.

Kristi’s Chronic Health Issues

Kristi has a long list of disabilities that impact her every moment of every day.

She has two autoimmune diseases (Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome), meaning her own immune system attacks other cells in her body, specifically the connective tissue that holds the entire human body together. This means much of her body is in a constant state of inflammation and pain. On top of the energy drain that being in pain causes, both of these disorders cause chronic fatigue. Both diseases cause neuropathy, which means her nerves are damaged or signals are blocked, leading to a loss of sensation all over the body, especially the hands and feet. They cause issues with her digestive system, autonomic nervous system, dry eyes and mouth, kidneys, etc. Connective tissues are throughout our bodies, including internal organs. The treatment for this is a low-dose chemo drug (cancer treatment) that has its own unpleasant side effects.

She has had several head injuries that cause balance issues and chronic migraines. Issues with dysautonomia from the autoimmune diseases exacerbate these.

She has hearing loss and requires a hearing aid in one ear. This causes issues with sound identification and location.

She's been in multiple car accidents, which have caused chronic and painful nerve, muscular, and skeletal damage in addition to the head injuries.

She deals with chronic anxiety, depression, severe PTSD/c-PTSD, etc.

And these are only a part of the list of health issues and concerns that Kristi has (the actual list is literally as long as Andrew's forearm).

Kristi carries a hefty weight every day, impacting every aspect of her life. With some additional recent diagnoses, she's lost the ability to drive and much of her independence; the weight is so heavy now she can't be alone for extended periods.

How a Service Dog Can Help

A service dog can help with balance, it can open low drawers and grab things off the ground for her, fetch items she needs, remind her to take meds, ground and get her out of triggering situations. It would be able to monitor some of her health concerns, warn her, and even call for aid in the most serious cases - along with dozens of other services to help make her life drastically easier.

What About Tilly?

While Kristi adores her little dog, Tilly is simply too small to provide all of the services Kristi requires and is too old to begin training. Kristi requires a second, dedicated service dog.