Last Chance Fundraiser for Riley Bean

Goal: $3,000 for Urgent Behavioral Training for Riley and Her Best Person

Summary: Riley Bean, a 6-year-old Blackmouth Cur mix has bitten her owner and needs urgent support to prevent future bites. If this fundraiser is put to the wayside, Behavioral Euthanasia will become prematurely necessary; please donate for Riley's future. This fundraiser goes to a low income household, and is a necessary request for the well being of Riley, her owner, and the community.

Riley has been evaluated by multiple professionals, and can succeed with adequate support. Training will start immediately with a licensed dog behaviorist and successful dog trainer who has assessed Riley and is ready and happy to work with her.

For those of you who like a short and sweet fundraiser, please skip to the donate button now, and thank you dearly.

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For those of you who want to know more, read on...

Why Riley Needs Help Now:

Riley is a loving, intelligent 6-year-old Blackmouth Cur mix who’s struggling with reactivity and anxiety. Recently, she bit me, her owner, on my face in a moment of high stress, resulting in an injury requiring emergency care and follow-up surgery. This was an extreme, relatively isolated event—but it made one thing heartbreakingly clear: Riley needs training and support, or Behavioral Euthanasia will be the only option to avoid future harm.   

This fundraiser is our last chance to give Riley the support she needs to live a safe, happy life. The goal is to raise $3,000 for her initial training phase, which includes work with a professional behaviorist and skilled dog helper.

Riley has uncountable attributes. She is uniquely sweet, silly, adventurous and intelligent. And she's a healthy 6 year old dog. Her pictures say it all and I'm happy to name all the amazing things about her if asked. 

 But she also suffers from anxiety and occasional reactivity, especially in uncertain or overstimulating situations.  She is well trained, but needs more support staying calm generally and feeling comfortable and at a low threshold.  Her anxiety, at this stage, can escalate from 0-60 and she needs help training to have a baseline calm.  She will also be doing muzzle training in a way that is safe for her so that that resource can be utilized when appropriate.

The Path Forward: First Course of Action:

I've consulted with many reputable professionals, (including no-fear training professionals who have ok-ed her training at the places I've chosen, citing no concerns based on my experience with them, and the descriptions on their website.) There is strong belief among all of them that Riley can be helped into a good and bite-free life—but we need funding to proceed.  

1. Training with Kevin Holohan – Canine Behavior Consultants.

Kevin Holohan is a skilled and experienced dog trainer with more then 28 years of experience who has worked extensively with reactive dogs.   He implements his years of experience with science-based research on the neuroscience of learning, cognition, and impulse control.  He evaluated Riley and engaged with her respectfully with positive-reinforcement. She responded beautifully—engaged and happy. It is so clear how much her well-being was impacted with just an hour with him in the morning, as she was satisfied and calm through the night. He is willing to train me with her.  He is also willing to advocate on Riley’s behalf to find a better home and continuing her training with a more capable handler if it appears she would need that for success.

How the $3,000 Will Be Used:

The funds will go toward one of the following, depending on our progress:

24 sessions with Kevin Holohan of Canine Behavioral Consultants.  The goals of this training include: helping Riley learn to relax and stay below her anxiety threshold; helping Riley learn to deal with her triggers by cultivating her natural skills; helping her regulate her reactivity, impulse control and emotions in the face of triggers. Sessions will take place both at Kevin's facility and in her home to maximize Riley's ability to adapt her newly learned skills. The training includes ongoing support and troubleshooting, both for me and for her new family if rehoming is in her best interest. 

Or a mix of sessions with Kevin + partial exploration with Specter K9 if needed. Specter K9 offers a home-based training and rehoming program with similar goals to the training described above and also includes trips to stores and nature.  Specter K9 finds and carefully vets new homes for its resident dogs and provides training to the new owners.  Riley would need training at Specter K9 with me to see if she, in particular, can handle the transition. This may be a future phase only if Riley proves emotionally resilient enough to handle such a transition. I want to explore this option gently and gradually, only if she doesn’t thrive with me after our other training, and a competent new person does not come forth.

Regarding the Uncertainty:

It’s been a 2 months since the incident that brought up the possibility of behavioral euthanasia. During this time, I’ve been doing everything I can — consulting trainers, rescues, and behavior specialists — to understand Riley’s options and make the right decision for her.

Ideally, I’d be able to tell you exactly what the outcome will be before asking for help, but we are 2 months deep into exploration and have reached a standstill that will only be broken when we take the best step forward with what we know at this time is possible. It is imperative to start training Riley and move her forward.

I adopted Riley, as a first time adopter and first time dog owner, from a rescue in Brooklyn that operates on a first come-first serve basis with 0 compatibility screening. There were no questions asked on behalf of Riley to ensure her needs would be met. It is unclear whether I (with major depression, general anxiety, and executive dysfunction that gets exasperated by stress) am the best person to help a dog who requires careful awareness and consistency. If I cannot fulfill her needs, I can step up with this extra time and network better to find someone who can.

What I do know is that Riley can’t remain in her current, limited situation much longer. For her to have a full, happy life — one where she can grow instead of being held back by uncertainty — we need to move forward soon, and with care.

Final Thoughts:

Without this support, I can’t guarantee that Riley won’t bite again. Without the support, there would be only two options: hoping a bite won't happen again until someone else gets hurt, or choosing behavioral euthanasia knowing we don't have the resources and necessary safeguards to help prevent another bite. 

Riley is a good dog who has been failed by people. First she was failed by someone who dropped her off at a rescue instead of finding a real way to meet her needs, then by a rescue that irresponsibly adopted out with a first-come first-serve policy and no screening or matching questions or home visits to see that she found a home that's a good fit for her. Lastly, I am failing her in not having the resources to provide her with what she needs, and may need work towards ensuring she is with someone more capable as well.

This fundraiser is not a quick fix. It’s a proactive, careful plan to give Riley a fighting chance—whether with me or in a new home.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and I graciously look forward to receiving your help in a better path forward for Riley.  With community help and professional guidance, I believe we can turn things around for her. I simply cannot do this without your help.