Baby Steps

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Seizure Response Dog

We have just recently started the process in getting a seizure response dog for Piper! As most of you know we had to leave our sweet pups back in TN with our best friends. It was one of the hardest things we had to do, they are our first babies! They are in a home where they get constant attention and are probably better off there. It's been hard not having them so a few months ago we started talking about a service dog for Piper. We came across a few companies that will train dogs specifically for people with eplilepsy. We had a hard time finding a company that would work with us since most patients have to be able to say commands to the dog, which Piper is unable to. Some of these companies charge up to $20,000 to train the dog so we thought it would be many years before this could be a possibility for us.

I was on facebook and came across a friend's post about their seizure response dog and asked for more information. Surprisingly she told me the company is in Monument, Colorado which is 20 minutes away from our house! We quickly got a hold of the company to find out more information. They told us they can train a dog to see me as the master but what makes Piper happy pleases me. It will take more training but it can be done. We learned that these dogs can really do amazing things, like respond to seizures by alerting someone, getting a phone, getting rescue medicine, and comforting the patient after the seizure is over.
We don't expect the dog to be able to sense seizures before they occur. What we do hope for is a companion for Piper. Our biggest fear with Piper is Sudden Death from Epileopsy (SUDEP). Piper often has seizures in the middle of the night, and while we have a monitor, they are often missed. With a seizure response dog, the dog would be able to alert us when these times occur. We also hope that he would be there to comfort Piper after the seizure is over.
- See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/seizure-response-dog-for-piper/220501#sthash.blHRimsx.dpuf

We don't expect the dog to be able to sense seizures before they occur.  What we do hope for is a companion for Piper. Our biggest fear with Piper is Sudden Death from Epilepsy (SUDEP). Piper often has seizures at night, and while we have a monitor, they can be missed. We hardly get a good nights sleep because one of us is "in charge" of watching for seizures. With the dog we will finally have help at night and hopefully get some more sleep!

The cost of training the dog will be almost $9,000. It would take us a very long time to save this money so we decided to do a fundraiser. We are overwhelmed with how many people have donated and are so excited because we are now on the wait list for the next available puppy! We will be getting a golden doodle and we have been told by many people this is an excellent choice for a service dog. Once they find a puppy we will begin training in our home. They suggest starting training when the dog is very small so he can be around Piper and possibly learn to sense her seizures.
here is a picture of a golden doodle, this is not our dog  but an example of what they look like


If you want to learn more about the company, the fundraiser or donations go to this link

http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/seizure-response-dog-for-piper/220501

We just want to thank everyone for donations, spreading the word and continuing to support our family. We love you all!
These dogs are trained to respond to seizures by alerting someone that a seizure is occurring, getting rescue medicine, getting a phone, and comforting the patient after the seizure is over. In many instances, these dogs are able to sense and alert the patient before the seizure even begins - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/seizure-response-dog-for-piper/220501#sthash.blHRimsx.dpuf
These dogs are trained to respond to seizures by alerting someone that a seizure is occurring, getting rescue medicine, getting a phone, and comforting the patient after the seizure is over. In many instances, these dogs are able to sense and alert the patient before the seizure even begins - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/seizure-response-dog-for-piper/220501#sthash.blHRimsx.dpuf
These dogs are trained to respond to seizures by alerting someone that a seizure is occurring, getting rescue medicine, getting a phone, and comforting the patient after the seizure is over. In many instances, these dogs are able to sense and alert the patient before the seizure even begins - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/seizure-response-dog-for-piper/220501#sthash.blHRimsx.dpuf