Service Dog for Lachy

Help us get Lachy a furever friend!

I first met Lachy when he was 13 years old through a youth mentoring program with Menslink . Lachy is now 15 years old and is the kindest kid I have ever met and is amazingly resilient despite his severe medical condition. Being able to secure Lachy a service dog would make a HUGE impact on his quality of life.

Lachy was born with an unnamed severe congenital heart defect and has needed multiple surgical interventions throughout his childhood. Lachy was only 3 weeks old when he had his first major heart surgery. He also has extremely poor cardiac output and suffers from poor oxygen saturation levels. 

We are raising money for Lachy to get a  medical alert service dog to provide a combination of physical tasks and emotional support services. Specifically, the fundraising will go towards:

* the purchase of the service dog (likely an Aussie Shepard )
* training, (could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months to train dog)
* full cover pet insurance
* general upkeep of the service dog such as equipment, food, vet visits etc.

Lachy's condition is very sensitive. The sooner we can raise enough funds to secure Lachy a  service dog the better. A medical alert service dog will have the ability to assist with monitoring him from a cardiac point of view, by sensing if Lachy is in a medical crisis both before it occurs and before Lachy is aware that such a crisis is imminent. The service dog can also be trained to seek out other individuals when Lachy is experiencing a medical crisis.

Having a service dog also means he will need less support from his mother and his younger sister (who is a registered young carer) and allow him to function more independently.

Money donated will be sent to a trust account for Lachy which is subject to conditional withdrawal specific to service dog costs. 

So please help us get Lachy his furever friend, he very well deserves it!