A 15-year-old boy named Johnn David “J.D.” living in Royal Palm Beach, Florida has just received a Seizure Response Service Dog from SDWR.

ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL, USA, December 12, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A 15-year-old boy named Johnn David “J.D.” living in Royal Palm Beach, Florida has just received an extremely special Seizure Response Service Dog from Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers. Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers, or “SDWR,” has a mission to provide specially bred and custom-trained dogs for individuals of all ages with invisible disabilities like Autism Spectrum Disorder, PTSD, Diabetes, or in the case of J.D. — Seizure Disorder. In addition to hundreds of working dogs already placed, there are over 400 families enrolled in SDWR’s program awaiting their service dog delivery.

Peggy, a labrador retriever Seizure Response Dog, has already received countless hours of training through SDWR’s service dog raiser program where volunteers raise puppies in training for approximately one year. The dogs and raisers must follow through the foundation and skill set training provided through SDWR trainers at the facility in Virginia.

Peggy is also an honored graduate of the SDWR Fallen Officer Puppy Program. The Fallen Officer Puppy Program, also known as “FOPP,” is an initiative by SDWR to pay respect to the legacy of service by fallen American police who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Peggy is named in honor of fallen hero Assistant Warden Peggy L. Sylvester of the Opelousas Police Department in Louisiana who was killed in an automobile accident. Peggy’s work as a Seizure Response Service Dog with J.D. will carry on in memoriam of Assistant Warden Sylvester’s life of service before self.

J.D. was diagnosed at 11 months old and has suffered from seizures his entire life. “Last year he was admitted into the hospital where he experienced over a hundred seizures a day. Subsequently he was medevaced to Miami Children's hospital and the pediatric neurological team decided to surgically remove a small piece of his brain,” says J.D.’s father, Jhon. With Peggy by his side, J.D. is confident that having a Seizure Response Dog will provide him with the independence he needs to face the everyday challenges of living with a seizure disorder.

With the new arrival of Peggy, J.D. will have a four-legged tool that has received foundational training to not only assist J.D. during seizures, but also help him to live a more independent and less anxiety-filled life. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), J.D.’s service dog will be able to accompany her everywhere-- from school, to church, and even to soccer practice.

SDWR will continue to work with J.D. and Peggy in their home environment, to train for specific needs he may have. What makes SDWR so unique from other nonprofit service dog organizations is this highly customized and tailored training program. SDWR trainers will continue to return for training sessions with J.D. and his family along with Peggy for the next 18 months every 3-4 months to continue fine tuning Peggy’s skills to best fit their lifestyle and J.D.’s disability.

What sets SDWR apart from other nonprofit service dog organizations, is that they have no age restrictions and none of the enrolled families ever travel in order to receive their service dog or participate in team training. SDWR’s customized training methods and careful considerations are made in order to match every service dog to their “person.” J.D.’s service dog will work with the SDWR trainers over an 18-month training program towards public access training and certification. Through hard work and dedication of the organization and J.D. they must work together to build on training foundations and fundamentals.

Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers is a non-profit organization based in Madison, Virginia, and relies on donations to help the organization in its mission, “Until there’s a cure … there’s a dog.” To make a donation or learn more about SDWR, please visit the website, http://www.sdwr.org. To learn more about Seizure Response Service Dogs visit http://www.sdwr.org/service-dogs/seizure/. To find out how you can volunteer or serve as a service dog raiser visit http://www.sdwr.org/volunteer-opportunities.

Beau Warren
Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers
+1 540-543-2307
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter

Seizure Response Dog Feature: Jessica's Story