Brenda Marra of Macungie was searching for a buddy to grow with her 5-year-old daughter, Renna.<\/p>\n
Renna is a curious girl on an independent streak, wanting to go exploring on her own when they are out. She\u2019s very sociable and loves making friends. But her rare genetic disorder \u2014 Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, which causes mobility and communication issues \u2014 makes these traits more difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n
A service dog would give Marra an extra set of \u201cpaws,\u201d helping Renna maneuver uneven surfaces, alert when she wanders off and calm her down when she\u2019s overstimulated. Marra hopes it might also help Renna build relationships.<\/p>\n
But local nonprofit options were not accepting new applicants, and other popular options presented hefty price tags that Marra could not afford.<\/p>\n
So, she turned to the community for help<\/a>, and they responded big: over $30,000 in monetary donations since July and more than 250 bags of donated footwear for a shoe drive that will generate thousands in additional funds.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea how much people would really connect with her and want to help her,\u201d Marra said of the community support for Renna. \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n She isn\u2019t the only Lehigh Valley parent with this mission: Multiple families are turning to service dogs \u2014 and the community \u2014 hoping they will bring life-saving medical assistance and comfort to their children with disabilities. With high costs associated with securing these specially trained animals for families already paying for expensive medical procedures and therapies, fundraising has become a staple of the experience.<\/p>\n Younger handlers<\/p>\n Some experts in training and placing service dogs say they\u2019ve noticed an increase in families obtaining service dogs for their children, citing more awareness of the benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cI think every year, applications grow because the popularity of service dogs increases,\u201d said Jessica Reiss, the Northeast region executive director for Canine Companions<\/a>, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to families, free of charge. \u201cIt\u2019s more socially acceptable to have a dog in public.\u201d<\/p>\n At least half of the 480 active service dogs in Canine Companion\u2019s Northeast region have gone to children, according to Reiss. She attributes an increase in applications, in part, to an increase in media featuring service animals.<\/p>\n John Bellocchio, lead instructor of training organization Fetch and More<\/a>, believes that younger generations being more open to dogs in public spaces helped create this cultural shift.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty years ago, a service dog in a school setting was like, \u2018What are you talking about? There\u2019s no dogs in here,\u2019 \u201d Bellocchio said. \u201cNow it is really very much a changed world.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennifer Lutes \u2014 executive director of 4 Paws for Ability<\/a>, an Ohio organization with national reach that specializes in placing service dogs with children and veterans \u2014 said the number of applications it receives has remained consistent over the years, but agreed that the need has grown with awareness.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the beginning, I don\u2019t think that people had a really wide grasp on the different ways a dog could support someone with autism,\u201d Lutes said. \u201cOver the years, it\u2019s become more apparent how effective service dogs for individuals with autism actually are.\u201d<\/p>\n Lutes said autism is the most common disability among the organization\u2019s child clients \u2014 who typically are 6-9 years old \u2014 though she has noticed an increase in children with multiple diagnoses and rare conditions applying.<\/p>\n Cerebral palsy, autism and muscular dystrophy are the most frequent diagnoses for children receiving service dogs from Canine Companions, according to Reiss.<\/p>\n These service dogs typically are trained to the specific needs of the child they assist, being able to do a variety of tasks including turning on lights or detecting low blood sugar. Beyond providing physical assistance, service dogs also facilitate social interactions and instill confidence in the children they help.<\/p>\n \u201cBy having the dog, it allows them to be independent in their own home,\u201d Reiss said. \u201c \u2018I don\u2019t need my mom to pick up the remote that fell because my dog can do it.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Expensive care<\/p>\n Upfront costs for service dogs can reach upward of $40,000 to cover veterinary care, basic needs and training \u2014 and insurance generally does not cover the cost. If families are not able to be matched with a dog through a nonprofit like Canine Companions, it can contribute to the financial stress for families already tackling staggering medical bills.<\/p>\n \u201cMy job is caring for my son, so when he gets hospitalized, I don\u2019t get paid, so I won\u2019t have my income at all, which at that point, I don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to keep anything afloat,\u201d said Stephanie Perez of Allentown.<\/p>\n Perez recently started a training program with Fetch and More with her new puppy, Molly, raising funds through a T-shirt sale<\/a>. The dog \u2014 which she says has already made a big impact \u2014 will be able to detect seizures and retrieve emergency medications for her 4-year-old son, Peyton. Extra proceeds will go toward an upcoming open-heart surgery.<\/p>\n Fetch and More\u2019s \u201cbring your own dog\u201d system, which allows for any dog the family has to be trained as a service animal, helps alleviate some costs, according to Bellocchio, though he said the average cost is still \u201cin the thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n Increased cost of living has become an additional factor in families\u2019 decisions about service dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have seen is \u2014 as we\u2019ve seen costs in general go up \u2014 that people are more hesitant, actually, to look for a service dog, if they\u2019re concerned about, \u2018Where is my meal going to come from? Do I have my housing?\u2019 \u201d Lutes said.<\/p>\n Programs like 4 Paws for Ability \u2014 which covers half the cost for families through donations \u2014 encourage families to reach out to the community for support. On average, it takes about two months to reach their fundraising goal, according to Lutes.<\/p>\n For some families, though, raising enough money can take much longer.<\/p>\n