Page 6 2026 Animal Stories Lincoln Daily News February 2026 The difficult thing about obtaining a service dog through an organization like this one was the cost. Jesse says, “Dolly’s 10 day training in February 2025, and her 3 month training in May 2025 was a total of $15,000.” She says, “we were lucky and thankful enough to be surrounded by amazing family, friends, and community and were able to fundraise every penny. We can never thank people enough who gave their own money, some people I had never met, to see me gain my independence back by getting a trained service dog.” After Dolly's 10-day training in February, Daugherty said “we spent a day with them, learning everything Dolly had just learned. At the end of her 3 month training, we went back and spent 3 days learning everything Dolly had just learned, and then another 2 day weekend a month later. Tammie and Robert's knowledge, time, and patience is outstanding and we will forever consider them a part of our family. They have changed my life for the better!” Having Dolly Mae has been a life changer for Daugherty. She said, “I was unable to work the entire school year of 2024-25 due to my disability. In the beginning stages, I was passing out and having what I call episodes daily. These episodes were unconsciousness, extremely high or low heart rates, very low blood pressure, and memory loss. There were times in the beginning when I did not know where I was or my husband's name. It was very scary. They (doctors) advised in the beginning that the first 6-12 months would be the worst and then things would level out. Thankfully, about 8 months after diagnosis, things started leveling out.” Today, Jesse says, “I have a few episodes a month and Dolly is right there to help. She
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