Students and staff at the Pella Community School District and others in the community have been rallying around a teenager in need of a service dog.

Kaelie De Heer is a student at Pella High School who has cerebral palsy, which has limited her mobility. Her mother Tina Uitermarkt tells KNIA/KRLS News that after fellow Pella student Nick Showman was allowed to have a service dog in Pella Middle School, it opened the door to an opportunity for her daughter. Uitermarkt asked the Showman family for a recommendation, and came across the Domesti-PUPS organization.

“I reached out to them late last fall, and they sent me the application information, which included a lot of medical background to prove that Kaelie did need the assistance of a service dog,” she says. “So we applied through that and interviewed with them in July, and they notified us in October that we were approved that we would be part of June of 2018’s class.”

De Heer says a dog will help her live an easier life.

“It can help from mobility to brain disabilities,” De Heer says. “Mine is going to be for mobility, so it will pick up things I drop, or if I fall, it will go get my parents or an associate at school, or if I, for whatever reason, can’t get a hold of the door handle or push the door open, I can tell it a command and it can get the door.”

Both say they have appreciated the community’s support, including a recent t-shirt sale held by the Pella Student Council.

“It’s very overwhelming, in a very good way,” Uitermarkt says. “It’s very difficult for me to ask for help, so to see just the willingness and joy people get from helping us is amazing.”

“We are beyond blessed.”

They aim to raise $14,000 to match a scholarship to sponsor a dog through Domesti-PUPS. Hear more about Kaelie’s story on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.

Donations can be made here until December 10th, and to give a donation after that date, contact Uitermarkt at kaeliesservicedog@gmail.com.