Service Dog Training for AL

Hi my name is Mary and in January of 2018, my life changed forever. I was living a fulfilling life as a Police officer in Nashville. I was a couple years out from cervical cancer, and thought the worst was behind me. It was on that day in January, that I was on an active robbery call and had a large grand mal seizure. I had felt funny several hours leading up to it, but had never experienced anything like it before. Little did I know that my life would never be the same after it. I had as couple more seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Adjusting to life with seizures has been very difficult and debilitating. When all this happened it derailed my way of life from ending my career, not being able to drive, fear of showering alone, not being able to do anything alone, and taking away any independence I had. To make matters worse, I developed a life threatening condition called DRESS Syndrome from one of the medications. It came far too close to killing me. I then came very close passing from Covid and required extensive rehabilitation, and began. To go from being a fully able and happy woman in her 30’s with a physically demanding career that she loved, to a disabled individual cannot go anywhere or do anything alone without anxiety and fear of the unknown, has been extremely mentally taxing as well as physically. The anxiety and constant uncertainty around when a seizure will happen, where I'll be when it does happen, and which type of seizure I'll have (I experience a handful of types of seizures) and what will happen is immense. For a couple of years, my epilepsy was under control with medication, but the medication is no longer keeping them under control. There is no cure for Epilepsy and I experience multiple a month, and it’s not uncommon for me to have more than one in a day without any warning. Having a Seizure Alert and Response Service dog would allow me to have a little more confidence in my day to day life, feel safer, and be able to slowly start having some independence again and to live alone more comfortably. Having this Service dog will really be imperative to me being able to function daily and have time to try and get to a safer position before having a seizure with them alerting me that they sense one is coming on, as well as breaking my falls, keeping me from getting severely injured during an episode, and stay with me and call for help if needed. Because these dogs go through extensive training to be Medical Service Dogs and the cost of training is anywhere from $15 to $30k and it takes anywhere from 1 to 2 years to do this so it's important I try to do everything I can to raise the money as fast as possible. I am asking for help to try and have a Service dog to increase my quality of life, safety, and to gain some independence back. Thank you for reading about my story and I am extremely grateful for any help you can provide, even by just sharing this will help me get closer to being able to have a Seizure Alert and Response Service Dog and bettering my quality of life. I currently work as a special education teacher trying to spend as much time as I can helping others.

I have purchased a border collie puppy to have trained as a service dog, which did not come cheap in and of itself. I am asking for help with the cost of training because I honestly can’t do it alone. Please consider giving even a dollar, or sharing my story. Please enjoy beautiful Al (the picture shown), who I hope to be the answer to the peace I have been longing for years for.