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 Saint
Francis Service Dog Ellie and Bethany Deckard are definitely a pair. Bethany’s
mom Eileen says, “Since Ellie came into our lives, one thing you can count
on from Bethany is laughter. Ellie and Bethany are inseparable. Ellie helps
Bethany by bringing her the television remote control when she wants it,
by picking up her cell phone when she drops it, and many other things.
Bethany can take a shower on her own now with Ellie’s help because Ellie
will support her on the shower seat.” Eileen also says, “Bethany and Ellie
don’t just work together – they also play. Because of her disability, Bethany’s
core muscles are weak and she stays in a reclining position. To play ball
with Ellie, Bethany has to sit up in her chair and so she does.” This seems
small, but to her parents it is amazing – Bethany has never done that before
Ellie.
 Ellie
was raised and trained by Saint Francis Service Dogs. Saint Francis was
formed in 1996 as a secular, community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation
in Roanoke, Virginia, to raise and train service dogs for individuals with
physical and/or emotional disabilities, enabling them to become more independent
and self-sufficient through partnership with a service dog. Saint Francis
places 7-10 dogs a year in the state of Virginia. It takes two years to
train a service dog and costs up to $20,000 per service dog. Saint Francis
provides dogs free of charge to qualified candidates.
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