Bless this amazing community.
As some of you know, from this diary, this is three-year-old Caitlin Racenet, and she needs a service dog:
Please keep reading.
My name is Caitlin Racenet. I am three years old and I love to sing and dance and play. I look like a regular sweet little girl, however there is a lot hiding behind my sparkling blue eyes. I suffer from Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a non-curable disease that causes tumors to grow in major body organs.
I have several brain tumors that cause a severe, difficult-to-control seizure disorder. My mommy and daddy first noticed my seizures when I was 16 months old.
I have multiple seizures every day, especially when sleeping. I stop breathing in my sleep when seizures happen, which makes Mommy and Daddy very scared. It scares me too. I don’t sleep alone.
If I had a seizure doggy, then I hope the dog would make me feel better about sleeping alone and help Mommy and Daddy sleep too, because the dog will let them know when I am having a seizure.
Most days I have 6-8 seizures, although sometimes I can have 24-30. I take my medicines very good, but the seizures still come, and they seem to be getting worse. I don’t like it, but I know it’s not my fault.
My mommy and daddy are often scared to leave the room or do normal household things because they might not be there when I have a seizure. I know that they will think a seizure doggy is a gift to the whole family!
All for Caitlin.
Two weeks ago, I got an email from a fellow kossack, who had read about Caitlin in the Caledonian Record in Vermont. Caitlin and her family live in Wasilla, Alaska, but her grandparents live in Vermont, and they had reached out for help.
"Caitlin has to have constant care," Joyce Racenet (Caitlin’s grandmother) said.
"However, a ray of hope for providing Caitlin comfort, safety and support exists in the form of a dog."
Caitlin and her family have been approved for a seizure assistance trained dog from an Ohio nonprofit training facility called 4 Paws for Ability. The facility trains dogs to provide many kinds of disability assistance for people of all ages, and they take pride in rescuing unwanted dogs that would otherwise be destroyed, for assistance service.
Source ~ Caledonian Record.
I had first read about 4 Paws for Ability in this beautiful diary by FireCrow in 2007. I sent a donation back then and put them on my blogroll.
And I decided to write a diary for Caitlin, in hopes that this extraordinarily generous community would help a little bit with the approximately $7000 Caitlin’s family still needed to pay for the training her dog would need.
Late in the night after I posted the first diary, our own llbear donated, and also sent an email to 4 Paws about our effort here at Daily Kos. The next morning, this gem of an email (from the director of 4 Paws) was in my in-box:
I was not able to post a comment because I am not a member of Daily Kos. I wanted to say thank you for your story blog and help offered to Caitlyn. It was so cool to read what you posted and all the comments. What a neat Blog. Donations have been rolling in!
That day, I went to work with a song in my heart; but I had a veritable symphony tonight, when I received this amazing email from Caitlin’s mother:
This is Caitlin's mom Rebecca and I just want to sincerely thank you so much for helping my Caitibug get her seizure assitance dog! I just received a call from 4 Paws For Ability and we have not only met but exceeded our goal by over 2,000.00! This means that not only will Caitlin get a dog, but someone else will be given the extra money that is having a more difficult time in their fundraising. They were amazed at how quickly it happened. To their knowledge, this is the quickest that fundraising has been accomplished.
Again, thank you so much! We have been placed in the January, 2010 class. The dog will be selected and trained just for Caitlin. I would love to keep you updated on our progress. Please continue to support and promote 4 Paws and the wonderful work they do. There are many children waiting for a helper friend!
So Sincerely!
Not just an assistance dog for Caitlin -- $2000 toward a dog for another deserving child. You can read about the other children who need dogs here. Thanks to this amazing community.
The symphony in my heart tonight began on a somber prelude.
Today is the first anniversary of the death of my beloved Madison.
Madison the German shepherd (May 22, 1994 ~ April 3, 2008)
Never forgotten; always in my heart.
How wonderful that it ended on such a high note -- thanks to all of you.
I am so grateful to have had Madison in my life for fourteen amazing years; and, tonight, I am so grateful to this community for uniting another beloved dog with a child who desperately needs one. Thank you all, so very much, for transforming such a sad day into such a joyous one. I am so blessed to be a part of this incredible community.
As hester wrote in Cheers & Jeers tonight, there is nothing purer than the love of a dog.
I know this is true.
Bless you all for making sure that Caitlin will know that it is true, as well. Thank you.