Community Rallies to Help Daughter Bring Home Healing Service Dog For Dad

SAG HARBOR, NY — A community has come together to help a loving daughter bring her dad a service dog.
Juliana Aurelia set up a GoFundMe page, "Help Brett Heal With A Service Dog," for her father Brett Bennett.

The page has raised $745 so far, surpassing its $600 goal.

"Everyone, thank you all for taking the time to visit this page and read about my dad's story. For anyone who knows my father, he has been through a lot in his life, especially within the past two years medically. He is a loving, compassionate soul who has lent a helping hand throughout the years to many around town and is now in need of help himself," Aurelia wrote.

"Within the past two years, he has suffered a debilitating fall that has caused neurological damage and physical disabilities, making him unable to walk without the assistance of a cane. Accompanied by his lifelong battle with mental illnesses such as depression and PTSD, as well has his more recent diagnosis of COPD and neurological Lyme, it was suggested by his doctors that he get a emotional support animal as part of his lifelong treatment and healing," she wrote.

"Being that my father has such a varying range of ailments and medical disabilities, and is physically limited when it comes to working, we are asking for help to pay for getting a service dog for him. After days of researching we have found a sweet little girl puppy named Bella who is 12 weeks old and is an appropriate breed and size for his living situation and as a service dog."

Bella, Aurelia said, is also the perfect age for the training needed to become a service animal. "She is in Pennsylvania and the money raised will go towards adopting her as well as the travel expenses to get her. Any donations and shares of this campaign would be greatly appreciated, making my father's quality of life better and giving him the comfort and peace he has been desperately searching for in the form of this companion."