Ten-year-old Bella Tiesenhausen and her service dog Uri are nearly inseparable these days.
The duo does just about everything together, from going grocery shopping at Costco to attending doctor鈥檚 appointments in Edmonton.
In fact the bond between the two has grown so strong Uri now sleeps with Bella in her bed, helping her get a full night鈥檚 rest鈥攁 feat the Tiesenhausen family would never have dreamed possible five months ago before they got the dog.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exceeded our expectations,鈥� said Connie Tiesenhausen, Bella鈥檚 mother.
鈥淪he sees him as her best friend.鈥�
The family received the dog in October to help Bella manage her cerebral palsy, a non-progressive neurological disorder that affects her motor skills and has caused developmental and neural-developmental delays as well as cognitive impairment.
鈥淓very night when she crawls into bed she gives him a big hug. You can just feel the tension ease and before you even know it she鈥檚 snoring,鈥� said Connie, adding Bella鈥檚 also started to give him a kiss on the head when she goes to sleep.
鈥淪he loves him, no doubt about it.鈥�
Prior to receiving the dog, Bella was known to bolt when she was in public making it nearly impossible for the family to do activities together.
Today, with Bella tethered to Uri, the family is able to do things again, including going for walks.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done lots of outings and Bella is quite happy to be tethered to him,鈥� said Connie.
鈥淎 couple weeks ago we were downstairs at the Jasper Pizza Place for a party and she got startled by one of the pinball machines that came on and she bolted and she was tethered to Uri and he did exactly what he was supposed to do,鈥� said Connie.
鈥淗e braced himself and she was able to get up about three stairs until we were able to calm her down.鈥�
The Tiesenhausen family would not have been able to get the dog without the help of Dogs with Wings, an Edmonton-based organization that provides individuals and families with service dogs.
To bring Uri home, the Tiesenhausens paid the organization just $1, despite the fact it costs about $30,000 to train a service dog.
As part of the deal, the Tiesenhausens agreed to help the organization with future fundraising efforts and so far the family has donated more than $1,300 to the organization by collecting recyclable bottles and cans, something the family is still doing today.
Upon hearing of the family鈥檚 story last October in the 51暗网, Mountain Park Lodges decided to run a special promotion in December pledging to donate a portion of its nightly pet fees to Dogs with Wings.
As a result, last week the hotel chain announced it donated $2,675 to the organization.
鈥淲e were aware they were doing some personal fundraising for Dogs with Wings so we wanted to show our support for it,鈥� said Ashley Kliewer, a digital marketing and sales specialist with the hotel.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a very family oriented chain of hotels and we鈥檙e also very inclusive, so we know for a lot of families that includes people鈥檚 pets so we figured it could be a great partnership to help raise some awareness for a great cause that has helped our community.鈥�
Connie said she has been overwhelmed by the support from the entire community.
鈥淲e are beyond grateful to Mountain Park Lodges and the rest of our community members that have so generously donated.鈥�
She said the community has so far welcomed Uri with open arms.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been very well received. We haven鈥檛 had any comments and in fact it鈥檚 probably been the opposite. There鈥檚 more excitement than anything else,鈥� said Connie.
She took the opportunity to remind people that they shouldn鈥檛 try to pet Uri or make eye contact with him because it鈥檚 distracting.
鈥淲hen he鈥檚 got his jacket on he鈥檚 on duty and he needs to work and focus on what he needs to do.鈥�
The next big step for Bella and the family will be introducing Uri to students and teachers at Jasper Elementary School, where Bella goes to school.
鈥淲hether or not that will happen this year, we still have to figure that out,鈥� said Connie, explaining she intends to introduce Uri to the school during an assembly next month.
In preparation, the school has begun sending home letters explaining to parents that a service dog will be attending school with Bella in the not too distant future.
