When A Dog Emancipates A Child!

Dogs are man’s best friend, and Flint proves this too!

Flint, golden retriever, is a seizure-sniffing dog that has been aiding Alyssa Howes of California for the past 3 years by informing about the upcoming seizure she would be suffering, preventing her from falling by alerting the child's family about the impending seizure and allowing her to have a bit more freedom.

Alyssa Howes, now 11-year-old, lost her sight and started having up to 20 seizures a day when she was just 4 years old. What bailed out Alyssa was a rare gift, a service dog named Flint that she received three years ago.

Juliette Palomaki, Alyssa’s mother, stated, “It gives her a companion to enjoy the moments when she is doing things she likes to do. Palomaki added that since they have got Flint, Alyssa has started sleeping on her own with him.

Scientists have established that dogs can smell chemical changes and alert others of the subsequent seizure by barking.

Various public awareness groups are encouraging children suffering from seizures, to get a service dog.

Brandon McMillan, an Animal behaviorist and a spokesman for such an organization named ‘Magnolia Paws for Compassion’, explained that it was very easy for a child with disabilities to become a recluse. Therefore, the child who has such a condition should be given a dog which opens up a world for this child.

Another organization, Ohio-based ‘4 Paws for Ability’ trains dogs for children with epilepsy, autism and other disabilities. Karen Shirk, its Founder asserts that at her training center, dogs learn to bark to signal a seizure so an adult can give the child medicine, but it requires special training for two or more adult caregivers.

However, training and getting a seizure dogs is a costly affair. The 4 Paws spends $22,000 to breed and train a dog and each family is asked to raise $15,000 to supplement the cost.