AmiLynne & Beau's Story

Hi there! My name is AmiLynne. But you can call me by my Spirit name: Babs. Welcome to the Sunrise Service Dog fundraising page for Babs and Beau. Beau is a yellow Labrador retriever who is my service dog in training, and I could not be more excited to share both Beau and Sunrise Service Dogs with you!!

First a little bit about what brought me here:

After receiving a dual diagnosis of a grade IV glioblastoma and stage IV NSCLC in a 2019, I was left without the use of my legs, my right arm/hand and in need of 24/7 oxygen. A subsequent medical episode in October of 2022 left me paralyzed; without the use of my body below the neck.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a doer, an achiever, an overcomer; a spiritual warrior of sorts! This fact about me has carried me through many a life challenge and has afforded me the opportunity to live life from a more compassionate and loving place. There is no comparison of ailment from one person to the next. Any discord experienced for any person can be life changing.

We can look at those life changes from a place of regret or anger. The feeling of being a prisoner in one’s own body can be hard to reconcile. Or we can look at those life changes as an opportunity to learn more, to be more, to love more.

For me, the biggest hurdle to overcome has been the complete reliance on those around me for even the simplest of tasks like rolling over, eating or washing my face or hands.

Enter Beau.

At 10 weeks of age, a snuggly wiggly yellow Labrador puppy came to live with me and my family. After an application and interview process conducted by Sunrise Service Dogs, Beau arrived to be my Service Dog in Training and ultimately my Service Dog.

As one might suspect, Beau’s impact was immediate. During the October medical episode this sweet canine lover of life and people was always on the ready to love (and insert his version of help) as people came and went in support of myself and my husband, Tom.

As Beau grows we will participate in weekly training sessions including basic obedience and socialization to begin; culminating in the assistive tasks Beau will ultimately learn and perform daily. Things like alerting Tom if I need help, opening doors, picking up objects, retrieving out of reach items, helping to reposition my body so as to avoid sores or falls and even pulling my manual wheelchair over threshholds when needed.

Simply put, Beau will be the conduit to help me with functions otherwise impossible to complete on my own, increasing my independence while decreasing my dependence on those around me.

The average cost to train a service dog is $30,000 - $50,000. It requires a lot of education, dedication and time. And Sunrise Service Dogs is committed to training Beau (and me, my family and supporting team of friends!) through the certification process and beyond. That is a huge ask of any one organization. And I will tell you that from the moment we met, the Sunrise Service Dogs leadership team has opened new pathways for hope and expectation of the good to come from this most exceptional partnership.

Sunrise Service Dogs is dedicated to creating a bridge of possibility by partnering individuals with exceptional canines. Or as I like to say it; otherwise abled doesn’t mean unable!!

And so this is where YOU come in.

Won’t you join the Babs and Beau adventure and consider a tax-deductible donation to Sunrise Service Dogs, a 501(c)(3) recognized organization. Each donation goes directly to Sunrise Service Dogs to support their work in training Beau and other service dogs for those in need!