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• Thursday, March 24, 2016

  Legion Leaders Meet Family That Auxiliary Assisted

  Johnson-Costello Post 355 in Penn Yan hosted the Yates County dinner in honor of state Legion leaders on Monday evening, March 21. Earlier in the day, the visitors lunched at Bradley-Jessup Post 660 in Dundee, where they got to meet a family that the Department and County Auxiliary assisted, and toured the Oliver House Museum in Penn Yan, where they learned some local history and got to see a myriad of historical artifacts. See Yates County Visitation Photo Gallery.

  

  Department Commander James Yermas, Detachment Commander Joe Santacroce, Yates County President Charlotte Ridley and Department President Janet Mahoney meet with Nicole, Claire and their service dog, Sebastian.

  The Department Auxiliary and Yates County Auxiliary raised $15,000 to provide a service dog to a child prone to suffering seizures, noted Department President Jan Mahoney. The girl, Claire Dillon, whose father is a veteran, received the dog two years ago when she was two. The dog, Sebastian, somehow senses when a seizure might occur, and alerts the family so they can be ready to provide medical intervention to arrest an active seizure, explained the girl’s mom, Nicole. The dog also comforts Claire, helping to keep her calm.

  

  Sebastian

  Claire had lost her eyesight due to an uncontrolled seizure, and having the service dog has made a difference in helping to curb further complications.
  “You guys are wonderful,” said Nicole. “We couldn’t have done this without your support.”

  Coincidentally, Department President Jan Mahoney and Yates County President Charlotte Ridley were Department and County Children and Youth chairs, respectively, when they learned of the girl’s plight and decided to do something about it.