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A dog for Daxton

Bodie to watch over boy with Down syndrome

By Holly Neumann


On Dec. 27, 2016, Eric and Melanie Pynenberg welcomed twins Daxton and Oaklyn into their family.

The couple remembers the day like it was yesterday.

“The doctor looked at me and said, ‘I think this one has Down syndrome,’” said Eric. “There was no professionalism about it. It was heartbreaking.”

Daxton was whisked away to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Melanie felt like she had been sucker punched.

“I cried every day for the first nine days,” she said. “I guess it was fear of the unknown.”

One of her biggest struggles was not getting the chance to enjoy her newborn son.

“They were always studying him,” she said. “I heard a lot of he has this or he has that.”

By 9 days old, it was confirmed Daxton has Down syndrome.

“Initially you think, oh my God, this is going to change our lives forever,” said Melanie.

But those thoughts were quickly replaced with their readiness to take it on.

Along with Down syndrome came other health issues as well.

Daxton suffers from hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea and was born without a working thyroid.

Most individuals with Down syndrome are known to be social individuals who typically like to wander.

Although not medical issues, this proved to be a growing concern for Daxton’s parents.

One more set of eyes

Because of all those issues, the Manawa family has turned to Bruce and Mary Bauer, from Bauer Family Golden’s of Plainfield to get a service dog for their son.

“We live near a highway,” said Eric. “This is an added tool and one more set of eyes to keep on Daxton.”

Melanie agreed.

“Mary and Bruce have been wonderful to work with,” said Melanie.

Three weeks ago, Bodie, a male golden retriever, was welcomed into the Pynenberg family.

Bodie will be trained in the service dog skills of CPR, corralling, human search, blocking, cover and focus fetching.
Training will initially take 24 months and over 1,000 hours.

For now, Eric and Melanie will be trained as Bodie’s handlers.

“Anyone who will be having regular contact with Daxton will have to learn as well,” said Melanie. “Bodie will be going everywhere with Daxton, and we will have to teach correct responses to the people that will come in contact with them.”

She thinks the hardest part will be getting everyone on the same page.

“And they have to remember that it cannot always be playtime with Bodie,” said Melanie. “He has a job to do.”

Bodie will have to complete obedience 1, 2, 3 levels of training before service training begins. He will have to take several tests to be certified as a service dog and public access K9 good citizen.

The family currently trains twice a week: once at home and the other in public.

“Bodie is pretty smart already,” said Eric. “I am surprised by how quickly he picks up on things.”

By the time Daxton is 5 years old, Bodie should be completely trained.

Additional training will be done as the need arises.

“This gives us some reassurance to keeping Daxton safe,” said Eric. “The training will never stop.”

“Daxton is such a blessing in our lives. Our hope is that he will able to become more independent and better accepted with Bodie by his side,” added Melanie. “He will have that extra companionship, reminders to take his medication, independence and safety awareness.”

Family seeks help with costs

Knowing all the benefits, yet seeing the costs of getting a service dog, is scary for the family who has six children ranging from 3 to 19 years old.

“We never intended to ask for help,” said Eric. “We very much appreciate anyone who can.”

“I see a service dog just as beneficial as someone who needs a wheelchair,” said Melanie. “This will improve the quality of life not only for Daxton, but our entire family.”

The dog and all of its training will cost $7,500, none of which is covered by insurance.

“Someone said why don’t you take that money and just put a fence up around our property,” said Eric. “That would be great, but Bodie will also be able to alert us if Daxton stops breathing.”

“Or if he is about to run into traffic in a parking lot,” said Melanie. “We cannot put a price tag on our son’s safety. If Bodie helps him one time, it is worth so much more than that.”

Those who want to help the family may make donations at any Community First location or mail checks in care of Daxton’s Service Dog, account #40120406158 in the memo, to Community First Credit Union, P.O. Box 1487, Appleton, WI 54912.

“As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child,” said Melanie. “This is definitely one of those cases.”

“Every little bit helps,” added Eric. “Each and every donation is important to our family.”

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