Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this update
finds you well. Just recently our nine year old son, Blaine, was cleared
for the placement of a service dog (Golden Retriever) bred and trained by the North Star
Foundation to serve as a therapeutic tool to help meet his social, emotional
and educational goals. We will be placed on North Star’s waiting list as soon
as our $7,500 fundraising obligation is met, which is only half of the true
cost of a North Star placement (the other half of funding is raised by the
foundation.) We’re writing to ask for your support and prayers.
Finding the words for
this is exceptionally challenging. We are the parents of three remarkable,
unique and amazing children. Some reading this know us well - you know the
specific challenges we’ve experienced over the last nine years. Some of you are
unfamiliar with our day-to-day struggles but you have some sense of what’s
going on. Thanks to social media, many who might end up reading this may have
never met our family. But here we are fundraising for what is a potentially
life-saving solution for our son. Since he was a toddler Blaine has suffered from
paralyzing bouts of anxiety punctuated by inexplicable rage and sometimes
self-destructive behavior. As he approaches the pre-teen years we, his family,
and mental health providers, are increasingly focused on the importance of
identifying and implementing long-term solutions to assist Blaine as he begins
learning how to make his way through life carrying mental, emotional and
behavioral challenges that most of us struggle to identify with.
We’ve left few stones
unturned as we’ve search for doctors, therapists, medications and methodologies
that might bring relief. The progress has been painstakingly slow and while
we’re grateful for all the good, we have yet to find something tangible that we
can all point to and say, "this made a significant and lasting impact on
Blaine's quality of life and on our family.”
After two years of
research, conversations, applications, phone interviews and prayer we have come
to the conclusion that a North Star therapy dog could provide Blaine with the
opportunity to experience the kind of simple peace that every child of God
deserves. Our only regret is not finding North Star and beginning this process
sooner. If you’ve seen Blaine play with a dog you’d know one of the reasons
why! Asking our family, friends and even people we don’t know at all to help out
isn’t easy. It exposes our family's pain and challenges in a new way and we
hope that if you have any specific questions about Blaine, his needs, or our
intentions that you'll reach out and talk with us.
The cost of a North Star
placement reflects the quality of the breeding of North Star dogs, the
intensive and specific training and socialization each North Star dog receives,
along with the considerable services they provide. The founder and executive director
of North Star, Patty Dobbs Gross, is also a child psychologist with an MA in
Educational Psychology who believes knowing how to use the therapeutic tool of
a North Star dog is key to our successful partnership by way of safety as well
as effectiveness. North Star Foundation
is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with special needs
through the use of well-bred and trained assistance dogs. They have been
incorporated for sixteen years and have created over 275 North Star placements
in homes of children who face social, emotional and educational challenges. You
can learn more about North Star’s work here.
Please consider making a
donation to support the placement of Blaine’s therapy dog. Your donation to the
North Star Foundation can be applied directly to his placement and should be
received by August 28th, 2017 so that we can shorten the wait time for our pup.
Your check or money order can be made out to “North Star Foundation,” and then
sent to the attention of Patty Dobbs Gross at 20 Deerfield Lane, Storrs, CT
06268, or, if you prefer, you can make a contribution on North Star’s website
at www.northstardogs.com. Click “Donate” on
the right side of the page and indicate that you’re donating for ‘Blaine Lyon’
or email Patty herself at PattyDobbsGross@gmail.com, but either way please know that your donation to North
Star is tax deductible (EIN # 06-1589586; Connecticut charities # 0012811.)
If you have any
questions or just want to learn more, please contact David or Jessica or, feel
free to reach out to North Star’s founder, Patty Dobbs Gross at 860-423-0664.
Thank you in advance for
considering coming alongside our family in this way and for your continued
prayers, love, support, and clicking that 'share' button :)
With Gratitude, the Lyon
family
