Mal & Leo Need Your Help for Their HEA!

Hi.

Um. . . so, this is awkward for me. Just want to put that out there first.

Some of you know, but most of you don’t, that I’ve been working to overcome injuries from a workplace accident that left me disabled over 6 years ago. I fell down the stairs (not something I recommend) and the trauma of falling triggered CRPS (click here for info) and a mild TBI (click here for info) both of which trigger depression, so I have physical, emotional, and neurological disabilities. I’m in graduate school learning a new profession with the hope of remaining self-sufficient. 

When I learned the diagnosis of my disabling condition and that it would be permanent, I set about finding a service dog for myself, being inspired by a classmate at that time. Peter was my faithful working partner for nearly 3 years before he was unexpectedly removed from service by the organization that placed him (and retained legal ownership). I was completely devastated, and began trying to obtain his successor immediately. It’s been well over a year now that I’ve been on several waiting lists.

I traveled to Oregon in February and found an excellent trainer who has 20+ years of experience training service dogs. Her whole paradigm is quite unlike any I’ve ever encountered and we both wanted to work with each other. However, the search for an appropriate candidate dog has taken many months, something I found very discouraging.

The good news is that my candidate dog has been found! His name is Leo, and he’s  wonderful long-haired (rough) collie the trainer considers a perfect match for me – wooo hooooo.

This is where you come in. Obtaining a service dog is an expensive proposition. The dog, training, equipment, team training and all the expenses that come along with traveling and staying in Oregon for 3 weeks really add up. While I’m incredibly lucky that an anonymous benefactor stepped up to cover $8,000 of the approximate $13,000 cost, that still leaves $5,000 I need to raise. (More means I'll get to go meet and visit him during his training period, and that would be so very awesome!)

I have a little less than 6 months to raise what I need. Amazingly, while sorting out all the finer points of how to approach y’all, about $450 has already been donated, and Sebastien Robichaud will be penning an outtake for The Ice Queen and Mr. McCarty that will be sent to every donor!!! How awesome is that?!?

Donations don’t have to be cash, either. I have offers of Hilton and Best Western hotel points/negotiated rates. So if you have some to spare, that would be SO helpful and means just that much less to raise. The 3 hotel chains available are Hilton, Best Western, and Holiday Inn Express. Also, car rental points or negotiated rates would be total win, as would be airline miles – Alaska Airlines is the carrier.

I intend to add blog posts as things progress – more pictures, some videos of his training, updates on how we’re doing money-wise, including a more detailed breakdown of expenses that I will tick off as the funds come in; and then on through team training so you not only know where your money is going, but also the difference you’ve made in my life. 

I know things are tight all over, so if all you can do is spread the word, no worries, that’s very valuable, too! The more, the merrier! Please feel free to pass the link to my blog to anyone at all you think might be interested/willing/available to assist or support in any way. Thank you!

So, look for the donate button at the upper left of this page – just click and follow the instructions. If you have other in-kind type of donations you’d prefer to make, use the contact link above, PM on ffn, or hit me up on Twitter.

I thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for even reading this appeal,
Mal

p.s. If you have any questions about service dogs in general, Leo in particular, me, my injuries, or anything, please post a comment below. I'll be happy to try to address them in upcoming posts.