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Sara’s Sidekick

This is my boss, Sara. Three years ago, I had been out of work for more than half a year after my job moved to Texas. In a time where we were in the middle of a terrible economic collapse, my bank account was anemic, and I was on the verge of having to move back home, I really needed someone to take a chance on me. That’s when Sara made me the first outside hire for her new company.

Since I’ve known her, she’s helped raise money for a plethora of causes, as well as contributing her own time, money, and sharing of awareness. It was one of the things I admired about her very early on (along with the fact that she still hired me even after spying on my Twitter account prior and knowing damn well that I had a love for shitty puns and sweater vests). Our business even has a grant match program where we actively give back to non-profit organizations on projects with them.

She’s someone who’s given and given and given, and now we have a chance to do the same for her, when she can use it. Please read this info, below, and if you’re moved to help her, please donate something/anything or at the very least, reblog this with your social circle. Let’s get Sara that sidekick!

If there’s one thing we know about the people of Wisconsin, it’s that they have some of the biggest hearts of anyone anywhere. This is especially true of Milwaukee. 

Milwaukeeans have hearts the size of Texas (and, let’s be honest, better beer).

Milwaukee, one of our own needs a little help.

You know her. You love her. And if you don’t know her, you are missing out. Sara Santiago is the most loving, giving, smart, funny, snarky, thoughtful and talented woman we’ve ever met. *

We know you want to help. And she could use some right now.

After several months with increasing epileptic episodes and the continued weakness, incapacitating pain, and mobility challenges due to her related neurological conditions, our dear friend, @sarasantiago, was encouraged to apply to a service dog training and placement organization. After completing the application process, Sara and her extended family participated in an interview with the organization, and she was accepted into the program. 

A Seizure and Mobility Assistance Dog will keep Sara safe both during and after a seizure. It will be trained to alert someone nearby or to use a specialized “phone” to dial a pre-programmed number if she is alone, and bring her its special vest that may hold a prepaid cell phone, medication and anything else Sara might need. The dog will also be trained to keep Sara from physically putting herself in an unsafe situation. (It is possible for Sara to continue walking during certain types of seizures, albeit in an altered state of consciousness.) It will be able to assist her in getting up from a lying down or seated position, help to stabilize her when she is having a bad balance day, and will be trained to retrieve things for her, should she be too weak to do it on her own.

For her safety, we want Sara to receive this incredible dog as soon as possible. 

This is where you come in.

Seizure and Mobility Assistance Dogs are highly trained and expensive. They go through up to two years of specialized training before they are able to be placed with someone in need. 

 

It is the goal of the organization providing Sara’s service dog that all dogs are placed at no cost to the disabled handler. “We understand the importance of adding a service dog to your life. We would never want finances to be the deciding factor. Each dog’s training, medical, and boarding comes to an average of $10,000.00, which is covered through fundraising efforts for the organization.”

Your contribution will help cover the cost of training, boarding and medical care for Sara’s service dog while it is going through its rigorous preparation to assist Sara, as well as airfare and a hotel room for the family while they work with the professional handlers for two weeks to transfer the service dog into Sara’s care as its new handler.

Please consider opening your hearts (and your wallets, duh).

We can’t do this without you.

In the words of Sara, We’ll eat you up, we love you so.

If you have a few (or a lot) of dollars to spare, please consider contributing to this campaign. Every little bit will get Sara one step closer to receiving the incredible gift of this service dog. 

Funds contributed to this campaign through Indie Go Go are the efforts of Sara’s devoted friends and family and are not tax-deductible. Any additional funds raised through this campaign will be given directly to the organization training Sara’s service dog, to help cover the costs of training other medical assistance dogs for the many people in need.

(Source: igg.me)