Help Aaron “flip the script” on MS with a service dog

My name is Aaron. I've had MS since 1991 with progressive disability in the past ten years.

You can help me flip the script from what I can't do to what I can do.

One of my life stories can be told through my dogs. When I was 23, I got my first dog. Sage was a gifted athlete who ran next to my bike and hiked through the woods with me. She traveled around the world and was my constant high energy companion for 12 years until cancer took her down. She was the dog of my youth: always active and ready to explore the world. 

Ten years ago, when my kids were no longer itty-bitties, Lulu came into our lives. She was very "doggish" and headstrong, and a very loving family dog. As my mobility slowed me down, she slowed down with me. She enjoyed walking slowly without pulling and didn't mind the shorter walks when I needed to rest and she could sniff. Taking walks with my crutches never seemed to bother her. It was a good arrangement for both of us. She passed a year ago, and we have missed her constant presence. She was the family dog of a father who was trying to manage a transition into disability. 

As I enter this next stage of my life as a fully disabled person who's often in a wheelchair, I'm ready for the next dog. Having another dog didn't seem possible. I was scared that I couldn't train another puppy. That I couldn't keep up with a young dog. How was a dog going to react to my limitations and the new needs that have arisen with my disability? 

When I found out about Assistive Canine Training Services (ACTS), it was a revelation. Here was a chance to bring another dog into my life who would not only be a companion but would support me as my mobility becomes increasingly limited. ACTS can offer me a dog to assist me in my current condition, and throughout the progression of my disease. Many of you have seen me struggle with daily tasks, from closing doors to picking things up to standing from seated, and a service dog can assist with all of those.  

It's good to occasionally flip the script from what I can't do to what I can do, and this dog is going to be an integral part of that! I never imagined my disability as an opportunity for another canine companion.

The next step in the ACTS dog matching process is where I need your help. A condition of receiving an ACTS service dog is to raise the $7500 that goes into raising and training the dogs. ACTS does not train a dog specifically for me, but they wait until there is a dog whose skills and personality matches me and my needs. It may take a little bit of time, as they put a lot of care into matching and having successful placements. 

Thank you for contributing whatever amount you can to help me reach my goal of $7,500!

While my future day-to-day activities are going to look different than hiking through the woods, I still need a canine companion to be by my side along the way. I appreciate you helping make it happen!

P.S. Most of their dogs are Labrador Retrievers, which means that the next fundraising project is probably for a robot vacuum cleaner to keep the layers of dog hair from overwhelming the house...but that's for another day! ;-)