Emma's Service Dog Funderaiser

Emma is a four-year-old, fun loving little girl. Her energetic and vibrant personality makes her seem similar to other four year olds. However, Emma isn’t like other little girls. When Emma was 3 days old she suffered a stroke that caused damage to 4 lobes of her brain. Because of the brain damage she has Cortical Visual Impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Apraxia and struggles with complex partial seizures. Emma has daily struggles and challenges that most little girls will (thankfully) never experience. 

Emma struggles with difficulty in processing visual information, voicing her needs, and recognizing familiar people and places. Auditory input and movement cause confusion and anxiety which affect Emma for days following outings. Elopement attempts, impulsivity, frequent disorientation and lack of self-regulation, put her safety at risk every day. She has little body awareness and is dependent on a cane to navigate unfamiliar environments. Emma is also unable to perform basic tasks expected in a classroom setting. Upon recommendation of her physicians, Emma is now on a waiting list for a service dog with a physician approved non-profit service dog agency. 

A service dog is trained to assist with visual stimuli, disorientation, self-regulation, and seizure recognition among other things. This will help Emma safely navigate places such as parking lots, grocery stores and other public locations. A service dog will assist her in better processing of auditory stimuli in the environment. Tethering Emma to the service dog will ensure her safety by preventing elopement and impulsivity. When given commands, the service dog will provide her with the support required to bring awareness back to her body. Emma’s service dog will allow her a new opportunity to participate in everyday activities and school by encouraging a closer connection to her world. By doing this she will have an opportunity to form strong bonds and meaningful social relationships with others. 

Emma is currently on the waiting list with New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc. New Horizons is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and is the host of a program that provides the children and their families help to address many issues associated with sensory processing disorders. The service dogs are put through an extensive 2-year training program and are paired with screened, qualifying clients free of charge. New Horizons was able to place 46 service dogs in 2016. In spite of some wonderful and successful outcomes, New Horizons faces challenges in meeting the financial needs it takes to place service dogs as the cost to raise and train a one dog is approximately \$25,000. The service simply can’t be achieved without help from people like you. We are raising funds to help support New Horizons in continuing to place services dogs with people in need, like Emma. All proceeds raised will go towards training and cost of raising a service dog and all donations are tax-deductible. Thank you for all your help in getting Emma to reach her goal!!