*Oct 17, 2023*

YOU DID IT!!!
I got an email last night from Little Angels Service Dogs notifying me that I am now waiting to be placed with a service dog!!!!! (It takes about two years to raise and custom-train a service dog, so I still have a bit
Thank you so much for your generous donations! Without your support, I may have been waiting for years and years to come for funds to be raised for my service dog.
By supporting Little Angels Service Dogs, you have helped further their work toward providing highly trained dogs to disabled children and adults in need. <3 

Welcome to my JustGiving page! I’m Alice. I had my first seizures when I was in middle school. Hundreds of thousands of seizures later, after countless hospitalizations, intubations, dozens of different medications, and even a couple of induced comas, refractory epilepsy and its treatment have eroded my independence, my career, my abilities, my mental health, and my basic safety. 

(me, undergoing my first home EEG study at age 13).

My seizures occur about every five to ten days. I cannot drive.The simplest things become truly insurmountable with the threat of a seizure at any time. From day to day, I am in danger every time I cross the street, take public transportation, or go to a coffee shop on my own. At home, cooking, showering, even just sitting here typing at my desk are activities that can be dangerous should a seizure occur.  I am often not able to go on walks by myself, and employment has been difficult because of the challenges of making sure I have fast access to rescue medication and an effective seizure action plan that works both for me and for the workplace. 

With your help, I can become more independent and pursue new dreams in my life, thanks to the safety and support that a Seizure Alert and Response Dog will bring me:

Little Angels Service Dogs is going to be training a service dog for me that will be able to do specific tasks to mitigate my disability:

1. Alert me to seizure activity. This is exciting, as my current warning gives me seconds to react with limited cognitive ability. Dogs can be trained to recognize and react to the smell that seizure activity results in up to 68.2 minutes before a seizure happens: this is enough time to take medication to abort the seizure, use my Vagus Nerve Stimulator, and let others know to keep an eye on me for a while in order to stay safe. (Here is a link to a 2019 prospective study about this. More studies are ongoing around the world.)

2. Dial a specialized doggy phone or set off button-alarm when I have a seizure.  This is something I had no idea would be possible- it’s amazing! Depending on the specific situation (home alone, with other people, or at work) I can have the same type of device programmed to different numbers so that the service dog learns one task and it could result in three different positive outcomes (call 911, alert husband in different room to a seizure, or call/page others directly if a seizure occurs).

3. My Little Angels Service Dog will be trained to retrieve rescue medications on demand. This will be so helpful to both myself after a seizure, when I am often confused and unable to speak, and anyone else that is helping me during a seizure: often, my loved ones must make the choice between leaving me alone during a seizure and leaving me to get medication to stop the seizure. This medication retrieval task is incredibly practical and will give our family peace of mind.

4. My service dog will be trained in Deep Pressure Therapy, which is like a gentle doggy hug across my lap and will help calm me as I live through an aura or recover from a seizure. After a seizure, or during a seizure aura, I suffer from a lot of fear and anxiety, which can trigger more seizures. 

(Recent pre-surgical home EEG study)

Little Angels Service Dogs places service dogs free of charge, but they depend on your generous gifts and support to raise, care for, and train each and every dog, including mine. I am so grateful to be in line to receive a Service Dog from Little Angels; my Seizure Alert and Response Dog is going to make navigating my life easier and safer. 

Thank you so much for your support here at this page, or you can also:

-Send a check to:

***Please write “AS-GA-AL” in memo of check***

-Donate directly to Little Angels Service Dogs go to 

Littleangelsservicedogs.org and click on the “Donate” button.

***For website donations, please enter the code: AS-GA-AL***

Thank you so much for your ongoing support, your generous donations, and for helping to change lives like mine. 

Love, Alice

Since 2006, Little Angels Service Dogs has been “Changing lives, One dog at a time.” LASD is a 501c3 nonprofit organization of trainers and volunteers who work to provide highly trained dogs to assist disabled children and adults throughout the United States. Our dogs are trained to assist in a variety of ways to help with daily tasks and to increase independence. We train dogs to assist their recipients with Mobility Tasks, Seizure & Diabetic Alert, Hearing Loss, Autism, PTSD, and Panic Attacks, as well as many other needs.