You may have seen Dani Stevens on A Current Affair this month with a public plea for help after her pre-alert seizure assistance dog Nina was initially knocked back for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding.
After battling government red tape for months - her family initially submitted their paperwork on 6th June 2024 - there was a successful outcome with the funding for Nina finally approved on 5th February 2025, in the wake of public support!
She shares her story with us...
"Living with life-threatening, frequent seizures slowly took away my freedom and independence. I stopped university, work, sport, and could no longer access the community independently. I always had to have someone within arm's reach, ready to try catch me when I would have a seizure. I was constantly at the ER with injuries from seizures. My family and I were constantly on edge waiting for the next seizure.
Thankfully, in 2017 I got a seizure alert assistance dog named Baloo. For seven years she has pre-alerted to thousands of seizures, anaphylactic reactions and Todd's palsy seizures. Baloo was fundraised for by the CrossFit and Ipswich community and trained through Dogs for Life - previously CSTDA.
She used her super sensitive nose to detect the chemical changes that occur in the body prior to an oncoming seizure. Once she smelt this chemical change she would bark to alert. She has made a huge difference not only to my life but my family's life too.
Having an assistance dog has given me my life and independence back, provided unwavering support and companionship, and has prevented so many injuries by alerting prior to a seizure three to five minutes prior to a fit, allowing me time to sit down in a safe place and call for help.
My assistance dog Baloo has been featured on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines where she has raised much needed awareness of the amazing work medical alert dogs do.
My family and I are extremely relieved to know that I can continue to live safely, independently and maintain my freedom with Assistance Dog Nina by my side.
Having an assistance dog has given me my life and independence back, provided unwavering support and companionship, and has prevented so many injuries by alerting prior to a seizure three to five minutes prior to a fit, allowing me time to sit down in a safe place and call for help.
Without Baloo I would not be writing this right now. I have required CPR a number of times after seizures. If Baloo hadn't alerted by barking, my family would not have been able to assist and perform life-saving CPR.
She has literally saved my life multiple times.
Having an assistance dog has also allowed me to access the community again, volunteering, doing casual work. She has given me my freedom, independence and safety back, and allowed me to now live in a self-contained granny flat.
My assistance dog Baloo has been featured on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines where she has raised much needed awareness of the amazing work medical alert dogs do.
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Dani Stevens with medical alert dog, Baloo, winner of the Australian Dog of the Year 2023 Photo Credit: Puppy Tales Photography |
She has won the Puppy Tales 2023 Australian Dog of the Year, Oz Top Dog with a Job and in 2024 she was a runner-up in the "Hardest Working Dog" category in The Dog Down Under TV show (Channel 10).
Baloo was funded for maintenance and training costs under NDIS and was a recognised assistance dog for the past 5 years. But turning ten, Baloo had to transition into retirement.
Baloo was funded for maintenance and training costs under NDIS and was a recognised assistance dog for the past 5 years. But turning ten, Baloo had to transition into retirement.
Unfortunately - because Baloo would continue to try to keep working over a new assistance dog - it was not possible to keep her. As she has alerted her whole life to seizures, this isn't something she could just stop doing.
It was a heart-breaking decision to have to make but seeing her relaxed, living her best retired life with her new family fills my heart with joy. She deserves the best retirement! She has gone to a friend so I can visit her regularly. She does a bit of therapy dog work and is enjoying all the pats and cuddles.
In June 2024, we started the process of applying to NDIS for a replacement assistance dog and ended up with quite the battle on our hands.
After thousands of dollars spent on reports requested by NDIS, they initially declined a one-off payment for the purchase of a replacement assistance dog for $47,400.
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Relief for Dani Stevens and her mum after NDIS funding for new medical alert dog Nina was approved |
After thousands of dollars spent on reports requested by NDIS, they initially declined a one-off payment for the purchase of a replacement assistance dog for $47,400.
Instead, they would have rather paid $520,400 yearly for 24/7 support worker care, leaving me with no freedom or independence, and at higher risk of injury.
I would have been back to having someone follow me around to each room, not being able to cook safely, having someone sit outside the bathroom when I'm showering, having someone watch me sleep, someone always within an arms reach.
My parents and brother currently provide full-time (minus 47 hours support work per month) informal unpaid care for myself and this would not be sustainable for them without an assistance dog.
It would also be risking my safety as a pre-alert seizure assistance dog currently is the only "piece of technology" that can alert a person prior to a seizure.
On 26th September 2024, we welcomed Nina, a one-year old black Labrador, into our homes.
I immediately started training with her and she has now passed her public access test (PAT) with Dogs for Life. In this short time Nina has already started alerting prior to seizures.
She has already taken over Baloo's role successfully; we are now just fine tuning all the training and alerting. Nina is alerting prior to seizures, even waking me in the middle of the night prior to them. We are so proud of how far she has come in just a short time.
A heartfelt thank you to A Current Affair, our federal member and the community for all your support, encouragement and kind words! We truly believe this has lead to the successful outcome!
She has already taken over Baloo's role successfully; we are now just fine tuning all the training and alerting. Nina is alerting prior to seizures, even waking me in the middle of the night prior to them. We are so proud of how far she has come in just a short time.
A heartfelt thank you to A Current Affair, our federal member and the community for all your support, encouragement and kind words! We truly believe this has lead to the successful outcome!
My family and I are extremely relieved to know that I can continue to live safely, independently and maintain my freedom with Assistance Dog Nina by my side.
I hope that by sharing my story, this highlights the important work assistance dogs do, some of the issues participants face with NDIS, and also raises much needed awareness of how dangerous refractory epilepsy is... and how life saving assistance dogs are."
Follow the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BalooTheServiceDog
To learn more about Dogs for Life, visit: www.dogsforlife.com.au
To learn more about Dogs for Life, visit: www.dogsforlife.com.au