4 Paws for Ability!
Karen Shirk, Founder of 4 Paws for Ability and Ericha Flateau, proud mom of Austin and his 4 Paws for Ability dog, Paris, visit with Marcie and Lovey about 4 Paws for Ability--a leading service dog organization. Karen shares her own personal challenges that led her to creating 4 Paws, an organization that specializes in placing dogs with children with disabilities and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing who might otherwise not be able to realize their dream of being partnered with a service dog. Karen also tells us about 4 Paws for Ability’s fortuitous participation in Netflix’s popular documentary, Dogs.
BIO:
Karen Shirk founded 4 Paws For Ability in 1998 after her own struggle to receive a service dog. She was told she was "too disabled" to receive a service dog; the agencies she contacted believed that, because of her poor prognosis, another recipient with better recovery chances would be more deserving of a service dog. After finally finding a trainer that placed her with her first dog, Ben, Karen began dream of creating an agency of her own. This agency would not turn away an applicant because someone else was more worthy and could better contribute to society after a service dog placement. It was this dream that led to the formation of 4 Paws for Ability. The initial placement of 2 dogs in 1998 has grown into around 100 service dog placements per year across the country and all over the world.
Karen has 4 internationally adopted children (Aaron, Nerlande, Isaiah, and Elijah) and lives just outside of Xenia, near the organization she created and loves so much.
My name is Ericha Flateau, and I am "Mom" to my son Austin. He was diagnosed at 3.5yrs old with a seizure disorder, and when he was 5 we finally obtained his official diagnosis of Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria and Shizencephaly. These are 2 rare brain malformations that typically are not found within the same brain. In addition to refractory (difficult to control) epilepsy, these malformations also cause a significant speech delay and some fine motor delays. When he was 7, we sought out the help of 4 Paws for Ability to place him with a service dog that could pre-alert to his seizures with the hope that this might ultimately allow us to gain some control of his disability. Our hopes were blown out of the water; not only has the help of his service dog allowed for him to gain seizure control, but she has also helped him grow into a much more independent young teenager. We reside in Franklin, MA with his service dog, Paris, and our 2 "service dog dropouts", Sassafras and Smidge.