Subtitle: The Journey of J to Dog.

We’re stagnated in our fundraising, hovering just shy of $6,000. Our goal is $13,000.

Writing this post is hard because I do not want to seem ungrateful. Ungrateful is the last thing that I am in all of this. It took amazing people, filled with generosity and love, to get us this far. It’s been donations of hard earned money, donations of amazing talent, and time spent just simply sharing J’s story. I am blown away by the kindness shown. I try to write thank you cards for every person I have addresses for – If you have not yet received one, never fear, they get written out slowly but they do happen. 

This is where it gets hard. I have to reach further afield to try and see J able to meet a dog that can and will change his young life. I have a press release that just needs a few tweaks to be able to send out, thanks to the amazing Stephen Herron’s help, but I have intense fear of going to that level. Those who know me generally know about the parts of my family that I am fearful of having get involved with J’s life. They ran roughshod over too many other lives and I do not want them exploiting this cause for either their own gain or to try and gain access to my son. My son deserves to be safe from the harm they can cause, so I remain fiercely protective.

So what do I do? I am already putting this all fairly public via this blog and other means. I am also planning a family oriented event, hopefully for late August or early September, which could include a lunch or dinner plus a silent auction of donated items. We’ve had a few offers of donation already and the items offered are pretty darned awesome if I must say so! I am looking for more. If you have leads on items, please let me know and I can either send you a packet about donating or send it along to whoever you think might be interested. My email is galebird(at)gmail.com. 

I am always looking for additional ideas and suggestions. I am always eager to hear what has worked for other people. We’re so close to halfway to our goal and I would love to see fundraising get completed by the end of September (when I dream, I dream HUGE) but it’s going to take a lot of work. Please keep sharing our story if you want! Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, write it on overpasses (I kid… or do I?)…

Let’s get Operation Dog into high gear! With a service dog, so many more things are “pawssible” for J. I cannot wait for the day he meets his new best friend.