ALTA, Iowa (KTIV) -
When you think of service dogs, you often think of seeing-eye dogs.
You may not know about those used for other medical purposes, such as dogs that help people having seizures.
When Steven Moncuse was 17 years old, he started having seizures. His family started raising funds, so he could have a seizure dog to monitor him, but he died nearly two years ago, before he could get one.
"I've become more passionate to be sure and to be sure that other families won't go through this," said Adelyn Ferrin, his sister.
Now, it's the mission of Steven's sister to bring these dogs to her community in Alta, Iowa.
"Steven was the kind of person that wanted to give all the time, and if he couldn't have it, he wanted someone else to," said Ferrin.
Seizure dogs are trained to detect when someone is showing signs of abnormal behavior, which are often related to seizures.
"Give them a sign of constant barking or tugging, or pulling, letting you know that something is incredibly wrong and you need to go with him," said Ferrin.
When a seizure hits, the dog will be right there.
"Basically love and affect during your seizure. Kind of helps when you come out of it a little bit better a little bit easier," said Ferrin.
It takes months to train these dogs. Paws with a Cause relies on fundraising to get animals ready. Mostly they're retriever-type breeds, but personal dogs, which've been with a human for a while, can be trained as well.
One of the more impressive tasks: These animals can be trained to push life-alert buttons or to dial 911 on a regular or rotary style phone.
Even though she doesn't know anyone now who needs a seizure dog, she knows how imperative these skills are for others. So, she won't be stopping any time soon.
"There's a child around here that needs this dog. There's a child around here that could live another ten years because of this dog," said Ferrin.
Ferrin hopes to have her fundraiser at the Storm Lake Hardee's on Aug. 17, the two-year anniversary of her brother's death.
In addition to that day, she's hoping to set up a silent auction and organize a doggy swim to raise funds for Paws with a Cause.
