Hi, my name is Marlies and I'm fundraising so I can get a life changing assistance dog. I have severe OCD, anxiety and late diagnosed autism.

My mental health disabilities are just that, debilitating. I struggle with everyday situations that most are not phased by, I struggle to socialise, I have severe panic attacks and shutdowns that can occur at any time and sometimes without a trigger. I am now also experiencing skill regression and although I have medication and therapy, my everyday life is becoming increasingly challenging.

One thing that helps me and always has is being around animals. I grew up with many cats and dogs, paticularly German Shepherds. A few years ago, after not having a dog for a while my family got a German Shepherd, Rio who I quickly developed a strong bond with. As my mental health has declined, we considered options such as an assistance dog. Unfortunately, Rio was diagnosed with a health condition called EPI and becoming a working dog was no longer possible for her.

After researching options, I am faced with long waiting lists for pre-trained working dogs and although from charities, would still need to pay a fee of around £15,000. An assistance dog would change my life, allow me to regain some independence I have lost, have constant mental support and to feel less vulnerable. I did not want to give up on this and kept researching, this is when I came across the PAWS assistance dogs training programme. PAWS enables people like me to train their own dogs with no waitlist and significantly less cost. To fund a German Shepherd dog and it's training to become my assistance dog, I would need just over £6000. This unfortunately is not something I or my family can afford and I know many others can't either. Therefore I'd be very grateful for anything to help towards this.

Thank you if you have read this far and thank you even more if you have donated