Minneapolis family reaches $25,000 goal to train seizure alert dog for toddler
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis family fundraising to train an Alert Seizure Dog for toddler reached their goal of $25,000.
Two-year-old Eloise Lugo lives with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of drug resistant epilepsy. She requires a constant watch and suffers from unpredictable and frequent seizures.
Earlier this month, WCCO shared their fight to fund an Seizure Alert Dog they say would greatly improve Eloise's quality of life. Just over 24 hours of the story airing, the Lugos reached their goal.
"I had people texting me kind of out of nowhere saying 'oh, my gosh you met your goal!' And I logged in and I just couldn't believe it," Eloise's mom, Lauren Stenzel said.
Stenzel said they already gave their deposit to their trainer—and expect to have the dog with their family sometime in January after he is trained.
"We've had the most incredible response. People have been so incredibly supportive," Stenzel said. "People we know, people we don't know. It's just been overwhelming and mind blowing."
Stenzel says she so grateful for the support—as they met their goal of $25,000 within one month.
"This will change our daughter's life for the better and we will be forever grateful."