Saving for a Lifesaver

Elissa Bossoli has a friend who helps her with everyday life. He leads the 23 vision-impaired Hamden resident around life's roadblocks. Bradley knows when she's feeling anxious and can calm her down. He's with her all the time, helping her whenever she needs it.

But Bradley's not a man -- he's a service dog. And as the golden retriever is getting older, Bossoli has no choice but to consider future options for when Bradley retires and returns to pethood.

Elissa was born with Septo-optic dysplasia, a condition that progressively attacks sight. 

"My vision has gotten progressively worse," she said, and she suffers from other related problems including with her thyroid and with anxiety.

Elissa grew up in Hamden and North Haven, attending St. Stephen's School and graduating from Hamden High School in 2007. It was there she met her high school sweetheart Joe, who is now her husband.

She got Bradley five years ago when he was 12 weeks old. In the first two years she herself trained him to be a service dog — he can guide her around obstacles, indicate to her when there are steps or curbs, and even tell when she is about to have an anxiety attack.

He'll let her know where the cross walk button is, she said, and will guide her to the entrances of buildings.

If she is making a poor decision, Bradley will override her, Elissa said. But people are wrong to think that service dogs know exactly where to go — they need to be lead by their handler.

"The dog is only responsible for what the person is telling them to do," she said.

She set up a You Tube site, GuidingGolden, where she posts videos about Bradley and training service dogs, and runs the website Please Don't Pet Me, which educates about understanding and respect for dog service teams.
She also is available to bring Bradley to present demonstrations about service dogs for businesses and organizations, she said.

But now Bradley is approaching retirement age, and Elissa wants him to be able to spend his elder years as a spoiled pet. She's like to see him retire when he's seven, so she's looking now into finding another puppy that she can spend the next two years training, so he's ready just in time for Bradley to retire.

It takes a certain kind of dog to do service work, Elissa said. She's considering another golden, as well as a German Shepherd, Doberman and Newfoundland.

But such a dog doesn't come cheap, so Elissa is on a mission to raise $1,500, what she thinks it will take to buy a puppy who has the appropriate requirements to become a service dog.

Elissa has set up a fundraising site at https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/plt2/m, where she hopes to raise the $1,500 she needs to get another dog.

Donations also can be sent through Pay Pal to the email address, admin@pleasedontpetme.com

"A service dog is so much more than a skilled dog," she says on the site, "it's the gift of independence, safety and life."