I live in Europe and due to several illnesses I am in need of a service dog. My current service dog Yoshi will be retiring soon, so right now I am trying to raise the funds for a new service dog to take over Yoshis job.

I was diagnosed with severe depression, PTSD, OCD, eating disorder and anxiety. I might also be on the autism spectrum (diagnosis for this is still ongoing).

My symptoms include dissociation, fatigue, flashbacks, anxiety and panic attacks, nightmares, memory loss, problems to concentrate, hypervigilance, sleep paralysis, pain and many more.

I see a therapist and a psychiatrist on a regular basis.

A service dog helps me to live a normal life and to do things independently, like going to the doctor's, going grocery shopping and the like.

Service dogs accompany their handler everywhere, even to places where "normal" dogs cannot go, like a supermarket or a hospital.

Unfortunately health insurance here won't pay for service dogs, so the handler has to pay the training and also the final assessment on their own.