Help Bring Gia, Warren, & Margo's Service Dog Home!

Our darling little Gia, Warren, & Margo have been approved for a behavior disruption, emotional regulation, teethering and trackings task service dog, and we would love to have your help in the process! Gia has a genetic disorder called Down Syndrome, associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate developmental and intellectual disability. It is caused by the presence of full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. Since her prenatal diagnosis Gia has and continues to face breathing difficulties, a heart condition, low muscle tone, sensory processing, vision, self harm, and communication challenges. By God’s grace, she is doing SO well! We have fantastic medical resources here in Michigan, and she is an amazing little 8-year-old girl. Gia is a very proud big sister to her little brother Warren 5 and her baby sister Margo 3. Both Warren and Margo where diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) around the age of 2 years old. They show many similarities with this shared diagnosis. Both nonverbal until the age of three. Warren and Margo started singing along to and acting out their favorite Disney movies before speaking single words alone. Stimming, lining up toys, climbing on everything as well as food aversions are among the common ASD traits shown by both children. Margo is a high sensory seeker unlike her two older siblings. Margo's stimming and needs for any and all sensory imput are nearly constant. Where as Warren has and continues to work on his need for emotional regulation. With patience and understanding comes improvement. 

Jeremiah 29:11

We believe a service dog would be an invaluable resource for our family for many reasons (see below), and we have chosen to partner with 4 Paws for Ability as a high-quality provider of excellent service dogs. 

The process of breeding, raising, and training a service dog to help a specific child is lengthy and expensive. Our family’s financial commitment in the process is $26,000. 4 Paws for Ability will cover the remainder of the total $40-60,000 it takes to provide a trustworthy dog. 

Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Every little bit helps!

Of primary importance, a service dog could give our family a level of saftey and independance we have never known before. 2/3 of the children are currently non-verbal and 3/3 elope.  We are out numbered, every outting poses unimaginable dangers. Of course, we are doing everything we can to lower that risk, but we believe a service dog would be invaluable in this. 

Other benefits of a service dog for our family include the following:

• Tethering skills (helping Gia, Warren, & Margo remain safe when feeling the desire to elope)
• Comfort and emotional regulation
• Behavioral interruption (sensory processing and seeking can cause them to act impulsively)
• And others we hope to discover along the way!

I've included more information about 4 Paws For Ability, Inc. below. Feel free to check out this amazing organization!

4 Paws for Ability is a non-profit organization that breeds, raises, trains, and places service dogs with children and veterans who have disabilities.

4 Paws for Ability places over 120 service dogs annually, all trained with specific tasks and skills to mitigate the impacts of their partner’s disabilities. 

To date, more than 1,800 service dog teams have been created thanks to the dedication of our staff, volunteers, and donors.

Training a service dog to meet our child’s requirements can be very costly. On average it costs between $40,000-60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog at 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to help cover a significant portion of this cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000 of that amount or $23,000 if receiving a poodle, doodle or papillon. We hope that we can receive assistance from our beloved family and friends to help make our service dog dream a reality.