FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY)- A Fayette County family is raising money for a service dog for their 13-year-old son who suffers from mental health illness. Anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts are all things Jacob Montgomery lives with and cops with every day.
“He is such a fun-loving kid; he’s so energetic. When he’s out, you would never know that he deals with anxiety and depression; he’s an awesome kid,” said Jacob’s mother, Sarah Tucker.
Tucker says overwhelming emotions and meltdowns often derail Jacob’s life. The family is now turning to a new way to treat Jacob’s mental health illness by adopting a fury new friend.
“He was the one that came up with the idea of getting a psychiatric service dog, that was not our intentions, but when he brought it up it was something that my husband and I was like, oh we got to do this,” said Tucker.
Service dogs are often not covered by health insurance and can cost up to thousands of dollars. To help pay for expenses, the family is putting together fundraisers. Community members can directly donate to a Gofundme account, purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win a wooden handcart American flag, or buy a custom bag from Thirtyone.com. Along with helping her son, Sarah Tucker wants to use this opportunity to bring awareness to teen mental health illness in her community.
“It’s something that’s not talked about a lot. I think parents try to stay quiet and protect their children. Also, the grand scheme of things parents end up feeling like they’re all alone in this battle, and they shouldn’t feel that way,” said Tucker.
If you would like to donate to Jacob’s Gofundme account click the link below,
https://gf.me/u/x9sug8
To purchase raffle tickets, visit J&J Hardware in Ansted or contact Sarah Tucker or Libby Lucas on Facebook.
If you would like to purchase a bag from Thirtyone visit, mythirtyone.com/mbiggy and mention 4 Paws 4 Jacob or contact Melissa Biggy at 609-742-6855 or party4bags@yahoo.com.
