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Sweet Cedar's Service Dog Training

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Hi folks - I’m starting a fundraising campaign to raise the cost of professional training for my son’s Service Dog. My son Bear has been living with Fibromyalgia,  chronic pain and fatigue syndrome, since he was 16 and with severe Anxiety and Depression since he was 10 - more than half of his life. He also suffers from Asthma, MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder). He has struggled with all of this for most of his life and has been unable to work. He is currently living off of government supplemental income (SSI) because of his disabilities. He is in great need of a Service Dog and would like to see this come to fruition soon, which can only happen with the financial support of the greater community. He needs $10,000 to cover the cost of the training. Any donation amount helps, even a buck or two, and if you are unable to share financially, then please share my fundraiser link and spread the word! To read more about my son Bear, and his soon-to-be-service dog, Cedar and the training, please read below. Thank you so much, I really appreciate anything that you can do to help.

A personal message from my son Bear:

After 11+ years of calling in the most perfect dog companion, and waiting for my housing and financial situation to stabilize (yay for getting approved for SSI!), I finally adopted the sweetest dog, Cedar.

When I adopted Cedar, my highest hopes for her were to be a solid companion AND be capable to be trained as a service dog. My health has continually been a hurdle in life and having a Service Dog would help me navigate the world with my limitations. Cedar has a great temperament, is very connected to me (we bonded instantly), and is eager to please which is why I think she will be a great candidate for Service Dog training.

Training Cedar as a service dog would benefit me greatly. She could be trained to help me to navigate public spaces, accompany me to doctors appointments, pick things up for me, support me on low mobility days, offer calming pressure and be a grounding presence, keep an eye on my personal space, carry my medications for me, and more. There are so many ways her training can greatly alleviate some of the limitations and obstacles I experience from daily living. The main thing that I need is for Cedar to be able to go with me everywhere I go, as having her by my side helps me be independent and actually get out into the world. A lot of her training will be to transform her into a composed professional dog who can stay calm in all kinds of settings, as well as learn specialised tasks to support me and meet my specific needs.

After a few false starts of trying to train her on my own and with consultation from dog trainers who turned out to be not a good fit, I realized that I need a trainer who has the capacity to work intensively (and patiently) with Cedar and me together and who will take charge of her training. I have found a local Portland company (HelpingPawsNW.com ) that specializes in training Service Animals and I have met with the owner/trainer and I am very impressed by their responsiveness and professionalism all the way. They are confident that Cedar and I are a good fit for their program.

Now, the main barrier is the cost of this type of training. The trainer has been very considerate of my economic position, living on a fixed income, and has been willing to work with me on the cost. Each 12 week session costs $2,736 and involves working with the trainer 3 times per week, for 2 hours at a time, which comes out to a better hourly cost of training compared to other trainers I met with. If Cedar is to become a certified Service Dog, she will probably need to train for the typical 4 sessions, spanning 1 full calendar year.  

Cedar and I have just begun our first session of training (9/17/18) which is very exciting, and so far she has done exceedingly well! The trainer is very impressed and has high hopes for Cedar to become an amazing Service Dog for me. I plan to post updates about the fundraising as well as Cedar’s progress over the next few months.

Bear

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So, my friends, we need $10,000 total for the training. Please help us reach this goal and spread the word. And thank you all so much!

Sweet Cedar ready for training!
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Donations 

  • Rose Clark
    • $20 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer

Mimi Serles
Organizer
Gilroy, CA

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