Service dog owner calls for help

(NECN: Lauren Collins, Epsom, NH) – When Judi Bayly stopped breathing in her sleep, her Irish Setter Lyric dialed 9-1-1. That call saved and changed her life. Bayly began training service dogs and giving them to others with disabilities. She has five dogs of her own, but relies on Crystal these days as her service dog. “They’re a piece of medical equipment,” she says, “but they’re a living feeling piece of medical equipment.” They’re also search and rescue specialists. Bayly’s Irish Setters were dispatched in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Now, it’s Bayly and her dogs that need a life line. Divorced and recently evicted from her house, Bayly survives on social security benefits and is scheduled for bladder and colon surgery next month. “I can’t afford to put four of five dogs in a kennel,” she says. Three are with foster families, but Bayly can’t find a place for Dancer, her 14-year-old. “A lot of boarding kennels won’t take a dog of her age because of the age, because of the risk of the dog passing away while it’s in their kennel.” Bayly needs someone to care for Dancer for the two to three months it will take for her to recover. She’ll be able to keep Crystal at her side to help her recuperate, even though this 57-year-old former Marine isn’t sure where that will be. Bayly currently stays in a motor home — parked for the summer at a private site off limits to cameras. “Old and used as it is, it’s a home for a temporary period of time to keep me in the area where my doctors are.” But its pipes are broken and she has no running water. Bayly wants to find an affordable home to rent. She can’t turn to a shelter or public housing, because she’d have to give up her dogs and that is not an option. “The dogs are my life,” she says as tears come to her eyes. “They’re a part of me.” And she hopes some day soon they’ll all be together again. If you would like to help out with fostering one of these dogs, please call Judi at: (603) 864-9416.