What Clients Are Saying
Client StoriesDanielle, gerry & julian (sam)
“We found Medical Sniffer Dogs kind of by accident. My son, Julian, is 12 years old and has Aspergers and suffers from anxiety. He’s always had a close attachment to our dogs and we’ve always seen how they are able to calm him down when he’s having issues, so we decided to look into a trained service dog for him – knowing that going into high school soon would be very difficult.
After researching a lot of non-profit groups and realizing that it would take years for us to get a dog that we needed soon, we thought maybe getting a puppy then training it on our own might be an option. We inquired about the Cocker Spaniels that Christine’s sister breeds. She recommended looking at Medical Sniffer Dogs. This sounded perfect for our family and exactly what we were looking for!
Right from the start, Christine was extremely informative and helpful. After our first meeting with her and her family, we decided that this was the right route for us. They did a full demonstration of what one of their dogs could provide for Julian. Then, we met Sam! He was just a puppy, but already we could see that this was a great fit! We understood that it would be a process that would take a few months, to a year, for Sam to get the proper training. He is still in training at the moment, but during the process, Christine has always been there to give us updates, cute pictures, and answer any questions that come up. We’ve also had a few visits during this time, which is helping Julian bond with Same, and to make sure that he was the proper fir for our family.
Sam will be joining our family soon and we can’t wait to see how he will benefit our family!”
Terry (Mayla)
“Since having Mayla trained, my life has improved. I now have the confidence to go out more, knowing that Mayla has my back and will alert me to increasing anxiety before I realize it. Knowing this has enabled me to do more on my own, which takes some of the burden off of my wife. Having Mayla has, in ways, eased some of the tension at home. Without Mayla, I would very easily go back to secluding myself, which would be a detriment to my situation. I owe Mayla, and the training she received from Christine, for giving me an important part of my life back.”
Beth (Hope)
“I am 24 years old, the age most are starting lives for themselves. My life before my service dog, Hope was a bleak existence, and a darker future. I suffer from Complex PTSD and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures (PNES). My Complex PTSD causes daily flashbacks, severe anxiety and debilitating panic attacks. My panic attacks become so severe, they cause my seizures. I have no control over my seizures. They can happen at any time, in which I lose control of all bodily function, my body seizes and convulses for numerous minutes while I am trapped in my head, fully aware. They leave me exhausted and sore or worse, injured. I have bruised ribs, bashed my head and even almost fallen down stairs because of my seizures.
I still remember meeting Christine from Medical Sniffer Dogs, my anxiety through the roof. I was expecting the same short list of questions, and ultimately the same answer. That they could not help or that I would have to wait multiple years when surviving a day, even minute was an ongoing challenge. Instead, Medical Sniffer Dogs listened, cared and treated me like family. They understood every disability is different and a cookie cutter service dog would not do.
Since placement in June 2017, Hope has alerted me several minutes before every single seizure. She provides safety and limits injuries to myself during a seizure by allowing me to prepare for it. She has also greatly helped with my PTSD and anxiety. Her ability to alert to my panic attacks and seizures, has given me safety and independence back.
Simple things such as shopping and enjoying the outdoors I can now do again. I have been able to start my own photography business and move forward into life not just existence…all without the intense worry of a seizure or panic attack coming unprepared. Hope has also given my family their lives back, no longer having to care for me and constantly worry about me. Because of Hope, I have regained my life!”
zack (rocco)
“Thank you so much Christine and Medical Sniffer Dogs for teaching my dog Rocco the necessary skills to be able to assist me in my everyday life. Having been diagnosed at 10 years old with type – 1 diabetes can be quite scary for anyone and their families, especially when there is a risk of such catastrophic occurrences if it is not well maintained. Suffering from constant fluctuations in my blood sugar levels, especially hypoglycaemia is always a worry, even more so when I can’t feel them approaching. Having Rocco trained to alert me to impending lows has provided me the independence to continue on with my daily life without the constant anxiety to potential lows or my family continuously checking on me at all hours of the day and night. From the moment I met Christine and her team, she was extremely professional and very accommodating to my needs and schedule. They were very thorough in making sure I was confident in what I was teaching Rocco, and that I was doing it correctly for the best results. Christine’s friendly and energetic nature made training an enjoyable experience for both me and Rocco, with Rocco even getting excited when he approached Christine (probably because he knew the treats were involved!). I cannot thank Christine enough for providing me with the very best “tool” I could have to manage my diabetes. Not only is Rocco my best furry friend, but he is also an integral part of managing my health. I could not recommend medical sniffer dogs more!“
Celine, Mother of Charlotte (tiana )
“Medical Sniffer Dogs impressed us with how invested they are in their dogs’ success. Tiana, our diabetic alert dog, was looking for a slightly atypical home. Tiana does not excel in busy, urban environments and Medical Sniffer Dogs was realistic about her limitations. They matched her with us, a family living in rural Ontario, who were not concerned about public access. Tiana may not love busy placed, but she certainly still has a great nose, a lovely personality, and a strong drive to work. Medical Sniffer Dogs
We consider Tiana to be a part of our daughter’s diabetic support team. Tiana has sniffed out lows when the continues blood sugar monitor (CGM) has been inaccurate. Tiana will often catch a low before the CGM alarms. Her sniffing skills offer an extra layer of protection for our daughter. Early in her placement, Tiana was frantically alerting us to a low, even though the CGM was showing a normal blood glucose level, and it turned out, our daughter’s blood glucose was dangerously low.
Recently, our daughter was the “Star of the Week” in her grade one class. As the “Star”, she was asked a number of questions about herself including, “What is one super cool fact about you?” She answered, “I have a service dog. I call her T-bone.” Indeed, Charlotte and her T-bone make a cool team.”
The Mackay Family (Heidi)
“What can we say about Christine Einboden and Medical Sniffer Dogs? It’s more like what can’t we say about them! Our family tirelessly searched the country for an organization who would consider providing a Service Dog to our daughter. We did not have much success, as most were very unsympathetic to her needs. Medical Sniffer Dogs is the only organization which stood out, as they are the only one we could find who actually care about their clients. Christine listens to your needs and whole-heartily wants to help. When a Medical Sniffer Dog is placed with you, you instantly become part of an exclusive family. The feeling is incredible. Christine and her team continually offer support, as they are very compassionate and selfless. Medical Sniffer Dogs has given our daughter her quality of life back, and our family could never thank them enough.”
Donna, Mother to Kaylin (Heidi)
“Anyone who has spent real time with our family knows how difficult life has been – especially lately. We try to keep face, while inside, our hearts are breaking. People ask what happened. She’s not like the girl we used to know. She used to have no fear, friends galore, taking on the world each day. She’s not the same girl that took everything in stride. What happened? Mental illness happened. It didn’t just happen… It’s trying to destroy.
Mental illness is constantly trying to take our daughter from us. In some ways, it already has. Some days, no most days, she’s in the state of a young child; one who does not have to deal wit the fear, the voices, the seizures, or with life. The times when she tries to be herself, it takes so much bravery on her part that it doesn’t last. Her mind cannot handle what it’s experiencing, so she turns into a child who can. If her mind cannot handle what’s going on, she not only turns into a child, she turns into a child with special needs.
Mental illness is relentlessly trying to stop her from living the life she deserves. We won’t let it – we refuse to let it win.
The stats so far:
Mental Illness: 5 years + and going strong
Mackay Family: 5 years + of NOT giving in
We know we will win this battle. How you ask? We have been led to a game changer. A game changer on four paws… Heidi from Medical Sniffer Dogs: a highly trained super hero who is trained to detect a change in our daughter’s cortisol levels and alert her/us to impending anxiety attacks & seizures, so that she can be in a safe place before an episode begins.
Heidi is an extraordinary medical device for our daughter and since their match, Kaylin is starting to heal and live again. They say it takes a community to raise a child; well let me tell you, it takes an army to fight mental illness… and Heidi, along with the other Medical Sniffer Dogs, is leading the charge.”