My name is Chris Paul, and on behalf of my wife Amy, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit to this page. My hope is to not only properly express my gratitude, but to share a bit of our magnificent journey with our beautiful daughter Lylah.
Lylah is a vibrant, fun-loving, adventurous, jokester who loves her family, the outdoors, sports, dancing and, of course ………dessert! She was diagnosed with Down Syndrome within a few days of her birth. Having found strength and encouragement in ONE physician’s words to “not put any limitations on this child”, Amy and I set out to be faithful parents and stewards of her destiny. We have done this by boldly seeking adventure, implementing progressive challenges, and properly delegating her responsibilities in the firm hopes (that we still hold today) that she will live strong and independently one day.
She is determined, strong-willed, and seeks novelty and adventure each day throughout the day. Accordingly, in lieu of her limitations with understading the ramifications of her choices, she has been prone to dangerous behaviors that have compromised her safety and greatly increased the stress in our home.
Such events have included (but are not limited to) multiple run-away attempts in which she went missing for up to 30 minutes in school, at the zoo, and in our neighborhood. Poison Control was called and she was rushed to the hospital when she ingested an unknown (and thankfully not dangerous) amount of Tylenol. When hiking (a family passion), she gravitates towards cliffs, and bodies of water with no regard to safety. My wife and I have found ourselves in a nearly perpetual state of HYPERVIGILENCE during the waking hours which has taken its toll, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Recently, while measures concerning safety, organization and storage have been taken around our home (and have proved helpful) we are THRILLED about the possibilities and opportunities that a service dog would help to bring to fruition. The dog we are seeking would be tethered to Lylah, and also trained to track her if necessary. With safety being the primary goal (as she becomes more independent and frankly, faster) we envision increased confidence for Lylah in social interactions, physical activity, and with schooling. We look forward to seeing how this changes the atmosphere within our home.
If you have read this far…..again, we thank you! Would you please consider helping this cause. It costs 4 Paws between $40,000-$60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog. Our family has been asked to raise $23,000 of that total. We thank you greatly, with sincere hearts, for your consideration and support.
If you would like to support Lylah you can donate directly to 4 Paws for Ability. You can click on the link below or write a check. Be sure to write Lylah’s name on the memo line. Mail checks to:
4 Paws for Ability
In Honor of Lylah Paul
207 Dayton Avenue
Xenia, OH 45385
Donate to Lylah’s dog below
Training a service dog to meet our child’s requirements can be very costly. On average it costs between $40,000-60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog at 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to help cover a significant portion of this cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000 of that amount or $23,000 if receiving a poodle, doodle or papillon. We hope that we can receive assistance from our beloved family and friends to help make our service dog dream a reality.