Maxwell is our sweet, silly, determined 5-year-old who is living with LMNA-related muscular dystrophy, an extremely rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness and fatigue. Despite the challenges he faces, Maxwell is still walking, playing, learning, and doing his very best to keep up with his friends. He recently started kindergarten and is becoming more independent every day.

As Maxwell grows, everyday activities like walking long distances, navigating stairs, getting up from the floor, opening doors, and carrying things can be difficult and exhausting. A specially trained service dog could give Maxwell greater independence, safety, confidencee, and companionship—helping him with physical tasks while also being a constant friend by his side as he navigates life with a progressive disability.

Training a service dog to meet Maxwell’s needs is incredibly costly. On average, it costs between $40,000–$60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog through 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to cover a significant portion of that cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000.

We hope our beloved family, friends, and community will help us make this dream a reality for Maxwell. Every donation, share, and word of support brings us one step closer to giving him a four-legged best friend who can help him experience the world with a little more independence and confidence. ?

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.