A Bangor couple has reached a roadblock in a nearly five-year journey to get a service dog to help detect their 7-year-old daughter Aria’s nonconvulsive overnight seizures.
After raising over $12,000 for a trained service dog through a nonprofit, the family was offered a donated untrained dog that could join them sooner, according to Aria’s mother, Jess Wojciechowski. But, the nonprofit says the donors intended their money to be used for a service dog through its organization and it cannot redesignate the funds toward the new dog’s training.
Donors who reached out to the nonprofit to clarify their donor intent were given the option to have their donation returned to them. The family is fighting to redirect all the money, much of which was raised by Lehigh Valley donors.
“Every night that passes is another night that something could go wrong,” Wojciechowski said. “So one more night sooner that we can get a dog into this house that is trained to alert us is the first that we will have a good night of rest. It will be the first night that we don’t need to about worry if she’s going to be there in the morning.”
Wojciechowski signed a contract in 2021 with 4 Paws for Ability, an Ohio nonprofit that places service dogs with children and veterans with disabilities, which would cover half the cost to breed, raise and train the dog. The family needed to raise $17,000 to be matched with a dog.
When Wojciechowski inquired about using the donations for training the new dog, the nonprofit said the money was “funds restricted by donors towards the use of Aria’s service dog at 4 Paws for Ability” and could not be redesignated to other organizations or individuals, including parents.
A statement from the nonprofit’s senior development director said it intends to use charitable contributions in the way donors specified, “which was the placement of a service dog through our reputable organization.”
Wojciechowski said when she signed the contract, “there wasn’t much thought other than excitement.”
“When you have this opportunity in front of you that could completely change your child’s life, you tend to maybe not read the fine print as much as you probably should,” she said.
Once the fundraising goal is met through 4 Paws for Ability, it could take around two years to be placed with a service dog, according to the nonprofit’s website. Wojciechowski estimates that the donated dog — which was offered by an old schoolmate turned dog breeder — should be ready to join the family in eight to 12 months and begin training, which could cost $6,000-$17,000.
Some donors expressed frustration that their money was not being directly redirected to Wojciechowski’s preferred avenue of getting a service dog.
“I donated that to them for this cause and the fact that they can’t receive it is really frustrating,” said Samantha Tinsman, a donor and family friend from Easton.
“That’s not what we all signed up for when we donated money,” said Catherine Denzel, a donor from Bethlehem Township who is Wojciechowski’s client. “There was a goal at the end.”
Most of the impacted funds were donated through MightyCause, where Aria’s campaign was directly in support of 4 Paws for Ability. It also included funds raised through a 2022 shoe drive that collected over 4,500 pairs of shoes.
“That was like a second full-time job for me to do,” Wojciechowski said.
“It’s always a good day when the entire community can all come together and support one cause,” said Kevin Branco, the owner of Main Street Gym in Hellertown, where a shoe collection box needed to be emptied every two or three days.
Wojciechowski has filed complaints with “the appropriate charitable oversight offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio,” according to state Sen. Lisa Boscola, who asked the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to fully review the matter.
“I am hopeful this organization will do the right thing and work with Jess so the funds raised for Aria can be used as intended, to help her get the service dog she needs,” Boscola wrote in a statement.
When asked about the complaints, Jennifer Lutes, the nonprofit’s executive director, said in an email that “the family is aware that 4 Paws for Ability is working individually with any donors who reach out to clarify the intent of their donation.”
“If a donor indicates they no longer wish for their contribution to support a service dog for Aria through 4 Paws for Ability, we are returning the donation directly to the donor so they can determine how they would like to proceed,” she said.
Wojciechowski plans on moving forward with the donated dog, hoping to get a potentially life-saving dog into her home as soon as possible. The family has raised more than $9,000 on a SupportNow campaign, which goes directly to Aria’s family.
“I have seen too many stories that I don’t want to be my own, of parents going into a bedroom and finding their child [dead], and it’s terrible,” she said.
“If this is the one thing that I can do and provide for her, that can stop that from happening and give her a life to live ahead,” Wojciechowski continued. “Then I’m going to fight in every way that I could possibly can to get this for her as soon as I can.”
Isabella Gaglione is a freelance writer.