By Lisa Carolin
With just a few days left to do your Christmas shopping, you may want to consider shopping at the Holiday Craft and Vendor Show, located at 23351 Redwood Dr. in Chelsea, at the Sylvan Crossing Trailer Park Clubhouse, just behind Wendy’s.
The show will take place on both Friday, Dec. 20, from 3-8 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 21, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. There will be a variety of handmade items sold by close to a dozen vendors including towels, candles, jewelry, and crafts, as well as door prizes and snacks.
There will be a $5 donation at the door to benefit the Cheyenne Curts’ service dog fund, a cause that is extremely important to Cheyenne Curts and her family.
The Curts will be selling her homemade dog treats at the show.
Curts, who’s is 23 years old, suffers from several disabilities and would greatly benefit from the assistance of a service dog. She has found the exact service dog that is the right match for her. Named Mystique, the canine is part of the Above the Clouds Siberian Service Dogs located in Colorado.
Mystique was born on May 26, 2019, and is currently in training.
“She has been passing training milestones with flying colors,” said Curts. “My hope is to bring her home in late spring or mid-summer of 2020. We are very excited to have this opportunity.”
Curts lives in Manchester. She was born at 22 weeks, a micro premie, and as a result has had a lot of medical conditions and surgeries. She’s battled life threatening cases of sepsis twice in the last few years, which have snowballed into a chronic condition that causes muscle weakness and pain and neurological issues.
“It’s very difficult for me to get around and feel safe in my own surroundings,” said Curts. “Mystique will help me with my mobility, pick things up for me, and retrieve medications. I can pass out without warning and have gotten physically injured as a result. Mystique will be trained to wake me up through various stimuli, and if that doesn’t work, she’ll be trained to trigger an emergency medical device.”
For the last three years, Curts has alternated between using a walker and a wheelchair. Her medical team advises that this is an ideal time for her to get a service dog. She and Mystique are considered a good match when it comes to temperament, and Mystique needs to train for a year until she is ready for the job.
The challenge now is fundraising. It costs $7,000 for Mystique’s training and another $3,000-$4,000 for Curts to train with Mystique in Colorado and to bring the dog back to Michigan.
“I would be very glad for Cheyenne to get this service dog for reinforcement, and to help her get out and be more secure,” said Cheyenne’s mom Barbara Curts.
If you can’t make it to the Holiday Craft and Vendor Show, consider a donation to Curts’ gofundme campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/1sz53tors0?sharetype=teams&member=3167694&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&pc_code=ot_co_dashboard_a&rcid=1e3e2d9c26e24135bbf35d276cb812ac
Curts and her family say that all support is greatly appreciated.
