Are service dogs REALLY that expensive?

Many people's mouths just drop when I tell them Sybil cost $11,000. They don't understand how a dog can be so expensive, until you actually spell it all out.

I'll start by reminding you that Sammy is autistic, epileptic, intellectually disabled, and has a genetic abnormality as well as a brain malformation. Sybil is not a pet, she is a working dog that will be with us as long as we need her. Our goal is to be in a different place so that when she is ready to retire, we will be able to keep her as well as a new service dog.  But that is YEARS down the line.

Sybil will come to us at 14 months of age. Consider first that it means 14 months of boarding and vet care, including spaying. It also includes her flight from her breeder, Sandy with Sho-Me Labradors of St. James, Missouri to the trainer Jason at Canines 4 Hope in Palm City, Florida. We specifically looked for a Florida-based trainer because we didn't want to have to travel with Sammy (who shouldn't fly).  We also wanted someone close enough that was a day trip for us.

Sure you can rescue a dog from the shelter and train them commands, but truth is they still have an unknown history. Service dogs are chosen from puppyhood based on their nature and ability to follow commands. It also requires them to be able to ignore distractions from people (petting, calling, staring) or other animals (cats, dogs, squirrels).

Sybil will have had a few months of basic training with Sandy, including manners. She will soon be flying to Palm City to begin four full months of intense training with Jason.  We'll go and visit her for training. I'm actually grateful things were a bit delayed so we'll have some holiday breaks to go down and see her overnight.

Canines 4 Hope is at the lower end of cost. Many organizations require you (as the family) to fund-raise $14,000 or more and there's a serious wait list for those "free" dogs.

We have secured more than half of Sybil's cost via private donations and selling "A Friend For Sammy" bracelets which have been sent all over the country. We also secured two grants from epilepsy foundations.

Many organizations aren't equipped to dual train a dog for someone like Sammy. Some won't take children at all, and some have strict guidelines and deadlines for acceptance. I had a lot of friends helping research different places, but ultimately, I'd dig in and find something that bothered me in the FAQ or the actual application. Even today, I found an organization that states "XYZ maintains ownership of the dog"  I have a HUGE problem with that.

Jason understands what we go through as parents, he has a son with epilepsy as well. This was a huge factor in our decision. We were working with a PERSON, not an organization.

He also understood our timeline for Sammy. When we first met with Jason in June, I had already had four in-patient chemo sessions and Sammy had been hospitalized twice for uncontrolled seizures. Fund-raising in the traditional sense wasn't going to happen.

Yes, service dogs are really that expensive.  And given Sybil can do so many things for Sammy at home, school and out in public, I think she's worth it.

Introducing Sybil

This is Sybil.  She was born Christmas Day 2013. She is a service puppy to be. She's about 6 weeks old in this picture. 

Here is the first picture we actually saw of Sybil.  She's about 5 months old and being raised by Sandy at Sho-Me Labradors in St. James, MO.  We had met with our trainer (Jason Devito of Canines4Hope.com) for the first time in person and he wanted to show us a gallery of dogs available.  Sybil was the very first dog in the gallery and Sammy loved her. We weren't ready to select at that time. We hadn't even done a contract or made a payment.

We made our deposit of $1,000 thanks to many different donations, all private. We started selling bracelets as well. In August Jason called to see if we were ready to select. He sent us another gallery.  Amazingly, Sybil was still available and we knew she was the one. It kind of helped that she was born on Christmas.....we felt she was our Christmas miracle for Sammy.

In October, we had finally raised $2500 to purchase Sybil from Sandy. Sandy was able to take some updated pictures of Sybil.

Our yellow girl is now almost 10 months old. She will be taking her first (maybe only) plane ride soon as she travels from Missouri to Florida to begin her training. 

Sybil will be trained in Autism assistance and Epilepsy response. It's possible that over time, she may be able to detect Sammy's seizures ahead of time. We are NOT expecting her to do that. We are looking for her to help Sammy stay calm and for her to keep him safe in the event of a seizure.

Introducing Sammy

Sammy was born July 19, 2005 on his estimated due date after a failed induction resulted in an emergency c-section. He weighed 8lbs, 2oz and was completely healthy as far as we could tell. He had shown signs of distress in hours leading up to the c-section. We know now that he has a small gliosis in the right temporal lobe that may have been caused from a lack of oxygen at birth. It wasn't found until he as 6 years old. It hasn't grown in the past three years.  Sammy also has an imprint birthmark on his left temple. Most people assumed as a baby, he fell asleep on something. Nine years later, it's still there. His neurologist is keeping an eye on it for any changes. It can only been seen when his hair is super short. 

Sammy began having difficulties keeping formula down almost immediately. We tried nearly every formula Enfamil made at the time, finally settling on Nutramigen. But even that didn't help. After six months (don't wait that long----it's one of my biggest regrets), we were desperate and changed pediatricians. We were seen quickly by a gastroenterologist/nutritionist who changed his formula one more time and it was magic. She had also increased the caloric intake for each feeding. He started keeping everything down and gained weight.

At his one-year check-up, we knew Sammy wasn't developing like other children. We didn't blame vaccinations because we'd already seen signs. At 15 months, Sammy was diagnosed with a pervasive developmental delay and began speech, occupational and behavior therapies. He spent the next 18 months with these wonderful women. Oddly I was grateful when he greeted his speech therapist Jacquie with a squeal saying "AAAAA-EEEEE" before he ever spoke the word mama. 

Sammy then moved into a pre-K ESE (exceptional student education) classroom. Sammy was just three years old, going to school for a full day and riding the bus to a a babysitter.  He made incredible progress that year. We relocated to Michigan at the end of the 2009 school year shortly after the birth of little brother Henry. 

In July 2009, just before his birthday, Sammy got tubes in his ears. What a difference it made. Regret #2 is that I hadn't pushed our ENT in Florida to do them sooner. His words started coming more easily, but he still was a LONG way behind his age peers. He was communicating, but not on a level where people could understand him.

Sammy's next school year was spent in pre-K ESE, then in the fall of 2010, we opted to place him in kindergarten for a year of school readiness. We were not expecting academic progress, but he made it. His teacher was wonderful. Sammy was learning, excited to go to school, and generally healthy. 

We relocated back to Florida in the summer of 2011. We made the decision to have Sammy repeat kindergarten to get the academics. It had been our plan all along. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, Sammy lost a lot that year. He had three different teachers, and it was the last one that finally had him on an academic progress track. Regret #3 was not knowing enough to push harder. 

Sammy's first grade teacher was phenomenal. She met him at HIS level, pushed him above his level, and built a true relationship with him. The assistant principal became principal that year (and she still is) and she became one of Sammy's biggest advocates. 

Second grade was a mixed bag. Sammy's regular ed teacher and inclusion teacher both left the classroom within two weeks of each other in October. We had discussed a new teacher before the permanent was hired, but by this time, Sammy had a best friend in the class, Abby. Sammy and Abby are very good friends and relate well to each other. Abby is a wonderful little girl who makes my heart happy because she chooses to be friends with him. In fact, recently, Sammy was the only boy at her birthday party. 

This year (2014) has been an incredibly difficult year. I will post separate blogs about his health challenges, but I want to talk about school. This was the first year we decided to change Sammy from a mainstream classroom with support to a fully special ed class with no mainstreaming. There were a variety of factors, many due to his health. Two months into the school year, we opted for a change in teachers. I don't regret trying his initial placement, but it was hard to support. His placement now is perfect for him.