Hello there, my name is Mia. I’m a chronically ill and disabled woman living in Denton,Texas. I’m looking for support in paying for training for my service dog Andouille (yes, like the sausage). I’ll be getting him on the 19th of September of this year from Agapé Standard Poodles and I’m so excited. This has been years in the making and now it’s finally becoming a reality. I am working with Scout’s Legacy Service Dogs through their owner training program, a cost effective alternative to a fully trained program dog. A fully trained service dog can cost from $10,000 to over $50,000, depending on the tasks it's trained for and whether you get it from a private or nonprofit organization. This program will cost me $300 dollars per month for two years, the average time it takes to train a service dog. I’ll have access to a community of people going through the same training with their dogs which means lots of support.

Why do I need a service dog?

I live with a host of chronic illnesses: PSWT (pots symptoms without tachycardia), a connective tissue disorder, migraine disorder, bipolar disorder and many others. The symptoms associated with these are often times debilitating and significantly affect my quality of life. I’ve been in and out of hospitals, doctor’s offices, and on tons of medications to manage my symptoms. I’m fortunate to now have an incredible team of doctors looking after me and an amazing support system. However, even with all of this, I still need more. Andouille will be a medical and psychiatric alert and response service dog. Having a service dog will not only restore some of my independence, it’ll completely change my ability to show up in my life and the world in the way I want to.

How can you help?

Know that any donation, big or small means the world to me. Taking this chance to ask my community for help feels vulnerable but also exciting. I want to allow people to show up for me in the ways I’d show up for them. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please share with those around you and help spread the word about mine and Andouille’s biggest adventure!