Five year-old Addy Luke suffers from a severe peanut allergy. As her reactions continued to worsen, the family was approached by Service Paws of Central PA, a community service organization to help those in need purchase and maintain service dogs.
Working with the community, Service Paws was able to raise the money necessary to provide Addy with a companion to help protect her from accidental peanut contact that could prove life-threatening.
“We had one donor around December who donated $16,000,” said Liz Houge-Luke, Addy’s mom. “It was an anonymous donor. That was a huge weight off of our shoulders and really set us in a place that we needed to be so we could get Koda as soon as she was ready.”
Koda was raised and trained by Allergen Detection Service Dogs in San Antonio, TX.
“Essentially what she has been trained to do is a giant game of hide and seek,” Ciara Gavin, founder of Allergen Detection Service Dogs, said. “Everywhere she goes she knows something is hidden and it is her job to find it and if she finds it she gets her toy.”
Koda’s exceptional sense of smell combined with her training allows her to find even trace amounts of peanut dust.
“Koda is just that extra layer, that extra tool in our toolbox to help us ensure that Addy is going to be as safe as she possibly can be,” Houge-Luke said.
See the report provided by WTAJ-TV:
