By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Emily Martell graduated 26th in Baker High School’s class of nearly 500 last year, and she was the president of the school’s National Honor Society chapter. But Emily’s mother, Cyndy Martell, was afraid Emily wouldn’t make it to college.

It wasn’t that Emily’s grades were poor. In fact, she made the dean’s list in her first semester at the University of Rochester. Unfortunately, Emily’s deteriorating mental health left her barely able to leave her dorm room without suffering panic attacks.

“It can get to the point where I’m in a ball, crying and clawing at my skin,” said Emily, 18.

In January 2016, Emily was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other social phobias. She picks at the skin on her fingers and gets too anxious to even go to the mall or the movies on her own.

“It’s like I’m always thinking that something bad is just about to happen,” she said, likening her constant anxiety to “that feeling when you skip a stair.”

While Emily has sought the help of a psychologist and psychiatrist, her therapy and medications have not been enough to quell her anxiety so she can carry on with the life of an average teenager and college student. Her care team recommended that she get a psychiatric service dog, trained to calm her down during panic attacks and distract her from picking at her fingers.

Canine Helpers for the Handicapped, Inc., located in Lockport, accepted Emily after a rigorous three-month application process and matched her with Scout, a 1 ½-year-old rescue dog who is training to become a psychiatric service dog. Scout’s price tag is $15,540, so Emily and Cyndy, a single mom, are seeking $10,000 in donations through Red Basket, a fundraising website. Emily also has written to local businesses asking that they sponsor her through Canine Helpers.

“It’s always been evident that when she was stressed, her first inclination was to go to the cat or the dog,” Cyndy said of her daughter. “Having an animal was going to be essential to her being able to move through life.”

While people with vision and hearing impairments, seizure disorders and diabetes sometimes rely on service dogs to assist them, psychiatric service dogs are less common. Emily said she researched grants for service dogs, only to find that most grants either did not cover dogs trained for mental health issues or were only available to veterans with PTSD. The Martells’ insurance will not cover the cost of a service dog either.

“It’s not fair to [my mom] to have to pull fifteen grand out of nowhere,” Emily said.

Emily said she knew Scout was special at their first meeting. The lithe, gray-and-white mixed breed with piercing blue eyes approached Emily and sat by her in a protective stance.

“She’s such a sweetheart, and we connected immediately,” Emily said. “The first time Scout walked into the room, there was a tangible lessening of my anxiety.”

“It’s almost like you can see a peace fall over [Emily] when she’s with her,” Cyndy said.

Canine Helpers tested a few different dogs with Emily, and to Emily’s delight, they selected the dog originally named “Margie,” which Emily swiftly changed to “Scout” after the main character in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“Plus, she’s wearing a vest with all these little patches, like a Girl Scout,” Emily said.

Scout is trained to look behind doors and sweep rooms to make sure Emily feels safe. She also will apply deep pressure with her paws or by sitting on Emily during a panic attack. Scout will live with Emily in her dorm room, accompanying her to classes and meals.

“It’s kind of like a mental prosthetic limb,” Emily explained. “You make a huge investment in your health to make it better.”

Cyndy said her daughter has been driven to give since she was a child. She said Emily, then in elementary school, once raised money to renovate the home of a friend who was paralyzed in a car accident. Together, the Martells also have participated in Paige’s Butterfly Run, Relay for Life and other community causes. When she’s at school in Rochester, Emily volunteers at a no-kill animal shelter, and she collected food and blankets for the shelter at Christmastime.

If the Martells exceed their fundraising goal, they will give the extra money to Canine Helpers so the next person who needs a service dog has less of a financial burden.

“My community is where I grew up, and if they can give back to me, I want to give back to them,” Emily said. “You see how much a little bit would do, so any little bit would mean so much.”

Emily is set to reunite with Scout in July for their certification training sessions. The dog must be paid for in full before the Martells can take her home. Scout is a rescue dog who had hip issues when she was found, so Emily said becoming a service dog gives Scout a second chance.

“It’s kind of like giving both of us a new lease on life,” she said. “She’s a rescue, but she sure is rescuing me.”

How to help

Emily Martell has a fundraising page on Red Basket, a website that collects money for community improvement projects and individuals “facing a financial hardship due to a medical condition, accident or act of nature/natural disaster.” Visit redbasket.org/970 by Aug. 1 to make a tax-deductible donation.

You can also donate by sending a check to Canine Helpers for the Handicapped, Inc., with “Sponsorship for Emily Martell” in the memo line. Mail the check to Canine Helpers for the Handicapped, Inc., 5699 Ridge Road, Lockport, NY 14094.