McMichael students unite to help fellow student purchase a special seizure-alert dog

By Steve Lawson

Published: April 24, 2008

Christina Saeger’s family started raising funds in January to buy a seizure-alert dog.
Saeger suffered her first seizure in January 2007 while an eighth-grader at Western Rockingham Middle School. Months of testing under different doctors finally returned a diagnosis of epilepsy.
Medication controlled the seizures until Saeger suffered an unexpected drop seizure in October during lunch at McMichael High School. That’s when she and her family began looking into getting a seizure-alert dog to provide them all with more peace of mind.
Now, with the help of some friends, Saeger could be just a few weeks away from traveling to Kentucky to begin training with her new companion, Leo.
“We have the dog picked out,” said Saeger, a freshman at McMichael. “We just have to raise enough to pay for it, and I can go for my one-week training with him.”
Since seizure-alert dogs can cost up to $30,000, Saeger’s family was thrilled to find a nonprofit organization that would supply a trained animal for $3,000. Pawsabilities Unleashed, based in Frankfort, Ky., was founded by former U.S. Air Force dog trainer Liz Norris with the goal of providing service dogs for children and adults at affordable prices.
The $3,000 fee was far less than some suppliers required, but it was still a lot for Saeger’s family. When initial fundraising efforts among family and friends fell short of the amount needed, a group of Saeger’s fellow students at McMichael took up the cause.
The “Pennies for the Pooch” campaign grew out of a story about Saeger written for the school newspaper, The Phoenix Scope. Members of the school’s yearbook staff decided to start the campaign.
“The newspaper staff was interested in it, but they had that journalistic need to remain separate from the story,” said Lyn Carlisle, staff adviser for both yearbook and newspaper. “The yearbook staff decided to take on the project and collect funds while selling yearbooks.”
The campaign began Feb. 12.
“That was Lincoln’s Birthday and that’s where we got the idea to collect pennies,” said yearbook staff member Jacki Smith.
Carlisle said the name for the campaign – Pennies for the Pooch – came from McMichael Principal Roger Whitley.
The staff collected $115 in two hours on that first effort. That’s when they decided to keep going to help Saeger reach that ultimate goal of $3,000.
“The yearbook staff is one of the only groups to have contact with the whole student body at various times,” Carlisle said. “We raised about $1,200 on our own, then got an offer from an anonymous donor.”
The anonymous benefactor agreed to match the funds raised by the student campaign in two weeks, from April 22 to May 5, up to $1,000.
“We’ve really been delighted with the response from the students and the community so far,” said Carlisle. “With this new donor stepping forward, we’re hoping we can pull together what we need for Christina by the May 5 deadline.”
Saeger said the willingness of her fellow students to pitch in and help has been a blessing. Although she’s never met her future companion, Leo, she now feels the time could be near.
“I’m really looking forward to that trip to Kentucky,” she said. “It could even happen before the end of this school year.”
For more information, contact Carlisle at McMichael High School in Mayodan.

News Editor Steve Lawson can be reached at or at 548-6047.