Dravet’s Syndrome calls for special service dog for Daniel
Daniel Dillard is ten years old. He has a highly rare form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, only 1 in 20,000-40,000 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with Dravet’s Syndrome. There is also no cure for Dravet’s. This means that Daniel will need a lifetime of care and he will always have seizures.
Daniel is has been having seizures since he was ten weeks old. Most of his seizures occur at night while he is sleeping, so we, his parents (Kim and Erick) have to monitor him every night. It is very important for them to know when he is having a seizure so that life-saving medication can be given in order to stop the seizure.
Daniel also has severe developmental delays and shows some signs of autism. His seizures are often unpredictable and therefore he must be monitored 24/7 days a week. Daniel tends to wander away and is unaware of environmental dangers such as traffic, bodies of water, and ill intentions of strangers.
4 Paws For Ability is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that specializes in training service dogs for children with disabilities. They have accepted Daniel into the program and will be training a seizure alert dog for him. This dog will be able to give us a warning when a seizure is about to start therefore allowing us to get Daniel to a safe position before it starts.
Most of his seizures occur at night, and are very long. His dog could sleep with him and let us know when he is having a seizure so that medication can be given to stop the seizure and potentially save his life. The dog will also be trained in tethering (keeping Daniel close in crowded or unsafe situations), tracking abilities so he can locate Daniel if he is lost, and also important, the dog will be a companion to Daniel during the scary times that all children with a chronic illness face.
We have committed to 4 Paws For Ability to fundraise the amount of $15,000 to train this special dog. Any help in
reaching our goal would be truly appreciated. Any donation is helpful, it doesn’t matter how small or how large!
Every penny counts. Please make checks payable to 4 Paws For Ability and mail to: 4 Paws For Ability, Inc., 253 Dayton Ave., Xenia, Ohio 45385. Please note that the donation is for “Daniel Dillard” on the memo line of your check. You may also go to 4 Paws For Ability to make an online donation in Daniel’s honor. ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. For more info or updates please visit http://adogfordaniel.blogspot.com, email us at sunshinest@cox.net or call (850)516-5166. Also visit http://twitter.com/danielsdog.
Note: I highly endorse 4 Paws for Ability as a source for extremely well-trained service dogs. The organization is sound and its goals exceptional. Judy Vorfeld.