Laura's Alert Dog....a lifeline

Laura was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on June 10, 2016, just three short years after receiving a diagnosis of Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  Laura has been fighting with her body to try to gain control of her blood glucose levels and has had some great successes, only to be disappointed with some tough battles.  She is one tough cookie though.  She continues to try to keep her chin up and fight a good fight.  She recently was able to start on an insulin pump and soon after a continuous glucose monitor.  Unfortunately, because of her bleeding issues that come from the EDS, coupled with changes in hormone levels due to her age, she has been on an uphill climb with getting these great tools to work for her.  Unfortunately, with technology there are always some exceptions.  The technology is definitely an improvement, but it is not full proof. 

We have now come face to face with the reality that Laura will require a service dog to make her feel 100% confident and able to sleep and honestly to relieve a great deal of anxiety.  An alert dog will wake Laura if her sugars are too high or too low allowing her the ability to sleep without fear of not waking up.

Laura has not truly been herself since her diagnosis.  She is anxious always and just is struggling to let loose and be a kid again.  Our goal is to see her smile the way she used to smile.  To listen to her laugh the way she used to laugh.  We want to see her running and playing the way she used to run and play.  All of this is 100% possible, but she has to gain that confidence back and through research and many long conversations with professional trainers, we feel this is the best way to help Laura.  Unfortunately these very specialized service dogs come with a very special price tag.  One that unfortunately we cannot provide for her.  Never in my wildest dreams did we ever think that we would be reaching out to all of you to help us help our Laura.  She is such a sweet girl who would do anything to help anyone she could.  She is the friend who would go the extra mile when she was in public school to make the children receiving special services feel comfortable and always extended her smile and friendship to them and she does that to this day.

Please consider helping us to help Laura.  The initial deposit to get on the waiting list for a diabetic service dog through Diabetic Alert Dogs of America is $2500.  We have been in touch with the director, Christy, and Laura is a great candidate for the program.  Once they receive the deposit, Laura is placed on an 18-20 week waiting list for a dog and trainer.  Once the dog and trainer are secured, the dog is trained for six months.  This means that by the time the dog gets to our home it will already be a full year old.  The dog is trained using Laura's saliva and is then flown to us with the trainer from California or LasVegas and the trainer stays with us for two days.

Thank you so much for your consideration and God bless each and every one of you.  We will continue to update you on our journey through this process.  God is amazing!