But once she learned that specially trained dogs could help her daughters with their medical needs, she was willing to do anything to make it happen.
Her oldest daughter, Suraiya, 6, was diagnosed with autism and sensory processing challenges.
Organizations charge from $15,000 to $40,000 for a fully trained service dog, which they have bred, raised, and trained for a year and a half.
Demand for service dogs has exploded in recent years as dogs have proved adept at helping children and adults with an increasing range of disabilities.
Those pitfalls are only exacerbated by social media, including fundraising sites like GoFundMe that allow families to meet pricing thresholds they wouldn’t be able to afford on their own.
Some, like the Mahnaz family, gamble by training their own dogs to lower the cost.
The lack of regulations for service dog trainers has opened the door for scores of backyard trainers who may or may not be qualified to train service dogs, said Lynette Hart, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of California-Davis.
“Sometimes they’re sold a bill of goods,” said Sheila O’Brien, chairperson of the North American board of Assistance Dogs International.
“It’s so easy to defraud people over the internet.
In 2020, North Carolina’s attorney general filed a similar suit against the owner of Ry-Con, a nonprofit service dog trainer.
Jennifer Arnold, founder of Canine Assistants, a Milton, Georgia, nonprofit training organization, said much work remains after a dog graduates, but many for-profit trainers end their involvement when they sell the dog.
Kelly Camm, development director with the Xenia, Ohio-based nonprofit 4 Paws for Ability, said only about 5% of families can write the $17,000 check required for a service dog.
“There is no guarantee for any of those dogs to go through,” said Eva Rudisile, Medical Mutts’ director of client services.
Families that opt for a program dog, on the other hand, are guaranteed to get a dog that completes the training.
A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the initial $4,000 to get their first dog, a goldendoodle, from a breeder.
An autism service dog, they hope, will help Suraiya deal with uncomfortable social situations and settle her down when she is on the verge of a meltdown.
Suraiya, who cannot write yet, has nonetheless created a list of potential dog names that only she can read: Blueberry, Alex, Stardust, Jelly-Jam.
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