02/09/2025
Meet our Head Trainer and Co-Founder, Christi Christiansen!
"I was born with a deep love for animals. As a child, I was the one who would always bring home the lost, the hurt, and the lonely animals that needed help. But despite my compassion, I was cursed with the unfortunate reality of being severely allergic to anything furry. My mom always said I was a stubborn child who never took no for an answer. I had to find the answers for myself, even if the other person was right. I needed to search things out so I could know for myself. If someone told me I couldnât or shouldnât do something, I found a way to do it anyway. I wasnât a screamer or a fighter; I simply proved, quietly and with determination, that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. And that included being around animals. My favorite animal was the dog. My mom tried to get me to stay inside and study books about dogs instead of snuggling up with them. But I always found a way to be outside, breathing and sneezing at the same time, as I tried out the dog training techniques I had read about. I dreamed of becoming a vet or a dog trainer, even though my mom patiently explained, time and time again, why that would never be possible for me due to my allergies. But fate had other plansâduring my pregnancy with my son, my allergies miraculously disappeared, and since then, I've never had a single symptom from being around animals. Around the time Mitch and I started dating, I began experiencing strange, new symptomsâsymptoms unlike anything I had ever dealt with before, and they only seemed to get worse. I visited many doctors, but rather than offering solutions, it felt like they just kept adding new diseases to my ever-growing list. At one point, as things between Mitch and I were getting more serious, I offered him a way out. I told him that, as I was getting worse, I had become a mess and there was a lot to handle. My symptoms just kept escalating, and I didnât want to trap him. His response was simple but powerful: 'Weâll take it one day at a time.â A year after our marriage, we discovered that a service dog could really make a difference in my life. However, the cost of training a service dog was astronomical! There were programs I could apply to that offered free service dogs, but the waitlist was up to ten years long. A friend told me that the Americans with Disabilities Act allowed me to train my own service dog, which was a glimmer of hope! But I had no idea where to start or what I would need to properly train a dog for this purpose. Mitch and I started searching and studying everything we could find. We reached out to renowned authors and dog trainers, but there were hardly any resources available to help people train their own service dogs. Mitch, being Mitch, then suggested, 'If thereâs no resource available, why donât we become the resource?â Thus began the journey of starting a non-profit, a venture that would not only change our lives but the lives of many others forever. Service Paws has undergone many changes to become what it is today. It will continue to evolve and grow as needed, and with every change we make to improve the lives of those in need, I grow stronger and learn more about myself than I ever thought possible!"
Our mission involves educating the public, offering support, and providing training solutions for individuals with service dogs.
