Alisha Srock & Mobility Assist Dog Maverick
Alisha Srock of New Brighton, Minn. is not one to let a challenging situation get the best of her. While she’s had cerebral palsy since birth—which equates to decreased mobility—she works each day to not let it inhibit her lifestyle.
Alisha lives independently in her own apartment in a building staffed by on-call personal care assistants (PCA’s). She attends North Hennepin Community College full-time and plans to transfer to Metropolitan State University this spring to continue her coursework in elementary education. Her extroverted personality shines when she is out in public volunteering at events for animal-related organizations, or for her other passion, science fiction.
While Alisha is able to transfer to and from her wheelchair on her own, she discovered there were times when she needs help when out in public and away from her in-house PCA’s.
“If I need a task done that is hard for me, while I am out at school, shopping, or on any other type of outing, I am forced to wait and hope that someone passes and they’re willing to help me when I ask,” Alisha explains.
After hearing about Can Do Canines from Courage Center, Alisha realized an assistance dog might be able to help her on her journey towards independence. “With an assistance dog, I will hopefully never worry about or experience these difficult situations ever again,” Alisha wrote in her application.
Enter Maverick, a lovable, calm, two-year-old black Labrador retriever. The Mobility Assist Dog has given Alisha more freedom and independence than she ever thought possible.
In her own words she writes, “Because of Maverick I’m never going to be stuck out in the cold, because I dropped my keys and can’t quite reach. Because of him I no longer need to fret over a dropped phone or wallet in a deserted hallway.”
Maverick is able to open doors, retrieve out of reach items, push elevator buttons—and he loves Alisha unconditionally. Each day Alisha says she, “looks into the eyes of the best thing to ever came into my life.” She says Maverick is the sweetest dog. So, gentle in fact that he’s even converted her cat, Scooter, into a friend.
‘At first, Scooter decided to hide in the closet,” Alisha says. “But over time the two of them started to get used to each other. Now, I even catch them sleeping and cuddling together, which is adorable.”
With Maverick in her life, Alisha says she now feels safer and more confident out in public. She’s excited to pursue the independent life she imagined while continuing in college to become a full-time educator.
“Applying to Can Do Canines was something I’ll never regret. Actually my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner,” Alisha says.
Alisha explains that she would have applied for an assistance dog earlier, but most of the organizations she came across charged thousands of dollars. As a college student, this was prohibitively expensive. She is grateful to all the supporters who helped provide Maverick free of charge.
“You made all of this possible,” Alisha says. “You gave me the best present I’ll ever get.”
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