The impact 4 Paws for Ability service dogs make change lives and lasts a lifetime. For many of our families, that impact is felt immediately. The service dog team of Alpina & Emmy graduated in the Apricot Class and in less than a month, their lives are blooming.
“Emmy’s service dog Alpina has been doing wonderful learning the routine at home. Both of them just love each other’s company. Let’s face it, Emmy has tantrums a lot. We do our best to calm her but there’s just something about the way Alpina interrupts those tantrums. Emmy starts to laugh and then we move into feeding Alpina treats. This magically helps Emmy forget whatever upset her and we move on with our day. Without this help from Alpina, those tantrums could last an hour.
We are working on having both girls comfortable with mobility support. The way they work together is different than an adult helping. When they are comfortable, we hope Emmy can gain some more independence.
Alpina is also trained in seizure alert. Emmy is one month shy of being seizure free. But she still has spikes detected on EEG. Meaning there is potential for a seizure to occur. Alpina’s seizure alert needs to stay sharp because we never know when a seizure may strike. We don’t know if I’ll be busy doing something or if I’ll be with Emmy. Alpina is trained to bark and alert me when a seizure starts. She is very good at not using her voice otherwise. Truly we hope we never have to use this beyond practice. We’ll still continue to work on the alert.
We are forever grateful for Alpina! Our fabulous working girl. Thank you 4 Paws for Ability for training the best service dog for our family.”
-Team Emmy & Alpina’s Mom
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