MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY DOG NEEDS SURGERY
Hello, My name is Marian Stiegeler and I am the owner of Avodah Therapy Services and Ceaser, a 100 lb white German Shepherd that assists in my psychotherapy practice. Ceaser is 10 years old and has been assisting in mental health therapy with youth and families for seven years. He is beloved by all of the clients, schools, organizations, and the entire community as a whole.
Ceaser is a professional working dog that is vital to the health and well-being of youth in our community. He has brought an aspect to the therapeutic process that words cannot begin to describe. Ceaser has a unique set of skills that help teach clients body awareness, calmness, confidence, nonverbal communication, coping strategies, empathy, responsibility, and so much more. He works with children and adolescents experiencing, depression, suicidality, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, PTSD, and other trauma disorders. In addition to assisting in counseling sessions, he is also modeling for and training his daughter, Hope, to be the next generation of therapy dogs.
Throughout the years, Ceaser has worked with many children with behavioral issues and has had occasions in which the children were very rough with this gentle giant. As a result, he sustained a back injury that has worsened significantly over the past two years. Although he still comes to work every day, his ability to perform the tasks in which he has been trained has diminished in scope. He has been having physical therapy at the K9 swim center weekly and acupuncture at the veterinarian over the past year and a half, but the injury has now grown beyond the scope of care he had been, and is still, receiving.
Ceaser has become increasingly limited in his ability to function in the more specific skills over the past two years. We initially thought it was due to his hips, as German Shepherds are known for hip problems. However, after going to a surgical specialist for a comprehensive evaluation, it came to light that his issues are actually from an injury to his low back. The surgeon has referred him for an MRI to be able to determine exactly what the extent of the injury is, but she stated that where the injury is located, it is the most difficult part of the back to operate on and the recovery would be extremely hard on him.
The surgeon determined that his health is excellent, with no issues in any other area than the injury in his back. He is extremely well cared for and his medical and rehabilitation bills have been quite extensive. The MRI is estimated to be between $5k and $6k, and I am seeking help to cover this cost. There will likely be additional bills for treatment options such as chiropractic, steroid injections, physical therapy, medications, and any other options prescribed by the veterinarian.
Ceaser loves working with youth and their families and is a vital part of mental health treatment for individuals with mental illness in our community. Please help him continue helping others.
