PTSD Service Dog for Kristina: Kidnapping Survivor
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Kristina, and a year & a half ago my life changed for the worse when I became a victim to a crime: I was kidnapped and carjacked at gunpoint in front of my apartment, along with multiple acts of sexual assault by multiple people over a period of 10 hours. Due to the hard work of the city's police force, the case has reached a verdict, so the suspects involved will be put away for life. It doesn't matter how I got myself out of that situation, but I'm physically safe now. Mentally, I couldn't be in a worse state...
I've been diagnosed with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and major depression. My already present anxiety has heightened to extreme levels due to my PTSD. I am currently seeing a specialized therapist, and have been taking medication, but that alone isn't enough anymore. Currently, I cannot go anywhere alone at night. I'm hyper-vigilant 24/7, have chronic nightmares that affect me throughout the day, and experience triggers/flashbacks that puts me in a dissociated state that I need to recover from. I've attempted to continue my education, but after 2 quarters of trying, I withdrew due to worsening symptoms affecting my life on campus.
Therefore my medical team, family, and I believe getting a service dog would be my next steps to healing. I would regain my independence, be able to attend school, and my symptoms would be mitigated. My service dog would learn tasks to help me with my symptoms in ways therapy and medication cannot. For example, if I'm experiencing a flashback, my dog would be able to perform a task that would "ground" me from a flashback faster than if I would on my own.
We decided to go through a non-profit dog training program called Doggie Does Good (DDG) that specializes in service dog training. They would train a dog the special tasks needed to help me through my day to day life. The training process ranges from 4-6 months, and a substantial deposit is needed to even start the training. Service dogs are generally EXPENSIVE, usually costing between $25,000-50,000, considering the countless hours of training that is put into these dogs. After consultation, DDG has stated my dog would be $40,000. The Victims Witness Protection Program has already graciously granted me $10,000 towards this dog, with $30,000 left for me to provide out of my own pockets.
In attempts to help regain confidence to face day to day life as well as collecting funds for the service dog, I have been working a part time job. However, I'm going to need all the help I can get. Thank you for taking your time to read my story!
Any contribution would mean so much to me!
More about PTSD:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
More about Doggie Does Good:
https://doggiedoesgood.org/
More about service dogs in general and ADA laws:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
I've been diagnosed with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and major depression. My already present anxiety has heightened to extreme levels due to my PTSD. I am currently seeing a specialized therapist, and have been taking medication, but that alone isn't enough anymore. Currently, I cannot go anywhere alone at night. I'm hyper-vigilant 24/7, have chronic nightmares that affect me throughout the day, and experience triggers/flashbacks that puts me in a dissociated state that I need to recover from. I've attempted to continue my education, but after 2 quarters of trying, I withdrew due to worsening symptoms affecting my life on campus.
Therefore my medical team, family, and I believe getting a service dog would be my next steps to healing. I would regain my independence, be able to attend school, and my symptoms would be mitigated. My service dog would learn tasks to help me with my symptoms in ways therapy and medication cannot. For example, if I'm experiencing a flashback, my dog would be able to perform a task that would "ground" me from a flashback faster than if I would on my own.
We decided to go through a non-profit dog training program called Doggie Does Good (DDG) that specializes in service dog training. They would train a dog the special tasks needed to help me through my day to day life. The training process ranges from 4-6 months, and a substantial deposit is needed to even start the training. Service dogs are generally EXPENSIVE, usually costing between $25,000-50,000, considering the countless hours of training that is put into these dogs. After consultation, DDG has stated my dog would be $40,000. The Victims Witness Protection Program has already graciously granted me $10,000 towards this dog, with $30,000 left for me to provide out of my own pockets.
In attempts to help regain confidence to face day to day life as well as collecting funds for the service dog, I have been working a part time job. However, I'm going to need all the help I can get. Thank you for taking your time to read my story!
Any contribution would mean so much to me!
More about PTSD:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
More about Doggie Does Good:
https://doggiedoesgood.org/
More about service dogs in general and ADA laws:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Co-organizers (2)
Kristina J
Organizer
United States, USA
Stephanie J
Co-organizer