Hello! My name is Liv, I am 18 years old. I graduated high school in June 2021 and am now in my first year of college. I was a dancer my entire life, until I had to stop due to my health. I love being creative - drawing, painting, journaling, doing my makeup. I’m a huge fan of Broadway musicals & Disney; I also absolutely love animals, especially dogs.  

My health has never been great, but it has worsened over the last few years. I have tried countless procedures, surgeries, medications, & alternative therapies. Some have helped, while others didn’t make a difference or even made things worse. I have been diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions, the majority of which stem from my underlying genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. These include Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Dysautonomia, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Hemiplegic Migraines, Endometriosis, Gastroparesis, and Trigeminal Neuralgia. I have a surgical feeding tube in my abdomen that bypasses the stomach and goes directly to the small intestine, through which I receive all of my nutrition & medications. I have a port (central line that leads directly to the heart) in my chest that is used to run IV fluids 3x each week and for ketamine infusions every 3 to 4 weeks to treat my CRPS; I also have a surgical catheter placed in my bladder. I take 30+ medications every single day, sometimes more depending on how I’m doing that specific day. 

Another thing that I have struggled with is my severe anxiety & PTSD. In July 2020 I started integrative equine therapy which has helped me start to heal.  During past hospitalizations when the therapy dogs came by to visit, I always felt better both physically and mentally. I’ve always loved animals of all kinds - we have 3 cats, one of which I’ve had since I was 6 and has gotten me through my worst days. After seeing how much the therapy animals help, we began to think about how a service dog could assist me. 

While we initially looked into using an organization to obtain my service dog, we ultimately decided to go another route - using a private trainer.  The trainer we chose came highly recommended by a friend who had used her to train their service dog.  After months of searching, she finally found a breeder in Missouri who still had a golden retriever puppy from their most recent litter available. Felix was born 10/17/21, and has already traveled from Missouri to California to live and train until he is ready to come join me as my service dog.  Right now, he is still learning to be a puppy and other basic skills. Once he matures, Felix will start training in the skills he’ll need to be my service dog. He will most likely be ready to come home in the spring/summer of 2023!

And this is where I would really appreciate some help. This entire process is extremely expensive, and like most of my current medical treatments, it is not covered by insurance. Some of the costs associated with this include the monthly board & train fee; travel for both the trainer & Felix; supplies such as food, toys, leashes, collars, & training tools; and service dog related items such as vests, patches, boots, etc. I am extremely grateful for any help you can give, whether it’s a donation of any amount or just sharing this around to others who could possibly donate. Obviously I would love to be able to pay for this entirely by myself, but I am unable to get a job right now due to my disabilities. Having Felix will be a huge step towards becoming more independent, but I just need a little bit of help to get there. I never imagined I would be in a situation where I am asking for donations like this but I am very limited in how I can earn money. 

As I mentioned above, Felix will help me in so many ways. He will come with me to medical appointments and use deep pressure therapy to ground me when my PTSD/anxiety response starts to kick in. He will create space between me & others in public to prevent anyone from accidentally bumping into my injured leg or arm. When I get migraines, the entire left side of my body becomes paralyzed - he can retrieve things for me, open and close my door, turn off the light, get help, and other things that I am unable to do during these temporary paralysis episodes. If I need to pick something up from the ground, having him get it will reduce the risk of me falling or passing out from bending over.  He’ll also be with me as my constant companion - things get lonely sometimes when you have to navigate life with several chronic illnesses.   These are a few examples of tasks that my future service dog will be trained to do to assist me in becoming more independent. Thank you for reading this and for any & all help you can give.

For updates on the training process:

Instagram: @ServiceDogFelix

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/336249368345441/?ref=share

Lots of love,

Olivia & Felix