Rowenna's Service Dog
Donation protected
This is my dear friend, Rowenna.
Rowe has had, let's just say, not the most helpful of lives and lives with a whole host of chronic medical conditions. Her most problematic diagnoses: C-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder, typically caused by multiple traumatic events), POTS (a form of dysautonomia, which affects the function of the automatic regulation of blood pressure, specifically when standing up), Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a connective tissue disorder that affects the production of collagen), Gastroparesis (another form of dysautonomia that affects digestion), and ongoing recovery from an eating disorder.
I met her in July of 2016 when we were both hospitalized for psychiatric care. Rowenna had already been there for three weeks when I got there and was there for another four after I left. From that hospital in Seattle, she was transferred to a residential treatment center in Florida called The Refuge, where she stayed for just over a year. She was then discharged to a lower-care facility in North Carolina, but it wasn't a good fit so she ended up back in residential care at Rosewood Ranch in Wickenburg, AZ from October 2017-January 2018. On January 22nd of this year, she came home to Seattle. Here she has an extensive network of specialists and providers, everything from trauma-informed therapy and psychiatry to doctors who can help navigate her physical ailments. None of these, however, will give her the kind of support, dedication, and love that comes from a Service Dog.
Service Dogs are defined as a dog specifically trained to perform tasks that help mitigate a disability. Service Dogs are legally medical equipment. For Rowenna, the list of possible tasks a dog could do to help her is extensive: grounding in instances of anxiety or traumatic flashbacks; alerts to oncoming anxiety; responses to flashbacks or anxiety episodes; alerts to imminent blood pressure drops, allowing her to either sit down or to prevent her from standing up, thereby preventing fainting and possible injury; retrieving objects such as medications; opening and closing doors; finding help in the event of an emergency. The list goes on.
In the United States, it is legal for a handler to train their own Service Dog, often with the help and guidance of professional trainers. Rowenna is partnering with Guynup's K9 Services in Edgewood, WA. They have found her a Prospect, a Goldendoodle puppy she has named Harley. However, the cost of obtaining that puppy, keeping that puppy healthy, and training her to perform these life-altering tasks is not a small number. That's why we need your help. This girl has put so much time, money, effort, and soul into her recovery, a process that has nearly cost her her life on multiple occasions. Getting a Service Dog would be invaluable and would, guaranteed, immediately change her life for the better. Rowenna needs a win. She deserves a win. Let's give her one.
Rowe has had, let's just say, not the most helpful of lives and lives with a whole host of chronic medical conditions. Her most problematic diagnoses: C-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder, typically caused by multiple traumatic events), POTS (a form of dysautonomia, which affects the function of the automatic regulation of blood pressure, specifically when standing up), Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a connective tissue disorder that affects the production of collagen), Gastroparesis (another form of dysautonomia that affects digestion), and ongoing recovery from an eating disorder.
I met her in July of 2016 when we were both hospitalized for psychiatric care. Rowenna had already been there for three weeks when I got there and was there for another four after I left. From that hospital in Seattle, she was transferred to a residential treatment center in Florida called The Refuge, where she stayed for just over a year. She was then discharged to a lower-care facility in North Carolina, but it wasn't a good fit so she ended up back in residential care at Rosewood Ranch in Wickenburg, AZ from October 2017-January 2018. On January 22nd of this year, she came home to Seattle. Here she has an extensive network of specialists and providers, everything from trauma-informed therapy and psychiatry to doctors who can help navigate her physical ailments. None of these, however, will give her the kind of support, dedication, and love that comes from a Service Dog.
Service Dogs are defined as a dog specifically trained to perform tasks that help mitigate a disability. Service Dogs are legally medical equipment. For Rowenna, the list of possible tasks a dog could do to help her is extensive: grounding in instances of anxiety or traumatic flashbacks; alerts to oncoming anxiety; responses to flashbacks or anxiety episodes; alerts to imminent blood pressure drops, allowing her to either sit down or to prevent her from standing up, thereby preventing fainting and possible injury; retrieving objects such as medications; opening and closing doors; finding help in the event of an emergency. The list goes on.
In the United States, it is legal for a handler to train their own Service Dog, often with the help and guidance of professional trainers. Rowenna is partnering with Guynup's K9 Services in Edgewood, WA. They have found her a Prospect, a Goldendoodle puppy she has named Harley. However, the cost of obtaining that puppy, keeping that puppy healthy, and training her to perform these life-altering tasks is not a small number. That's why we need your help. This girl has put so much time, money, effort, and soul into her recovery, a process that has nearly cost her her life on multiple occasions. Getting a Service Dog would be invaluable and would, guaranteed, immediately change her life for the better. Rowenna needs a win. She deserves a win. Let's give her one.
Organizer and beneficiary
Rowan Sullivan
Organizer
Seattle, WA
Rowenna Clark
Beneficiary
