Alice, a seizure alert/response dog, gives Noelle the independence she needs to live a busy life as a wife and new mother. This would not be possible for Noelle if Alice was not there to alert her before her seizures occur, and to assist her during the seizure.

Noelle has had epilepsy from infancy and grew up under the close scrutiny of her parents. Whether she she was asleep or taking a shower, her parents kept an ever watchful eye on her. Noelle even had an aide sit with her during school, keeping close watch over her.

As you can expect, such close monitoring can become an annoyance to a teen, and Noelle was no exception. As she strived for independence, her mom, Tina become more fearful. Tina looked into getting her daughter a seizure response dog through various organizations, but always ran into a closed door because of Noelle's age. After researching ADA law, Tina and her husband discovered that they could train a Service Dog for Noelle themselves.

Tina and David Rivero took training classes and learned all they could regarding service dogs and training. They got Scarlet, a golden retriever, and trained her to be a successful Service Dog for Noelle. Scarlet even had the ability to alert to Noelle's seizures prior to the onset.

This skill, called seizure alerting, cannot be taught, and many people with epilepsy report that their pet dogs, have figured out on their own how to spot signs of trouble in their owners. With Scarlet’s talent to alert, and a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), which is like an implantable pacemaker for the brain, Noelle had reduced the frequency of her seizures from three or four a week to maybe one or two a week. The dog would give warnings about 45 minutes before the event, giving Noelle a chance to activate her VNS (which she does with a magnet) or call for help. “I would say five to seven times a year Scarlet saved my daughter’s life,” Tina says. Soon after she got her first dog, Noelle,like many young girls, started dreaming of what she would like to do when she grew up. “I want to train dogs for people like me,” the little girl announced to her parents one day. Although she never mentioned it again, she apparently held on to the dream for years.

Shortly before her high-school graduation, she told her parents, “It’s time.” They had no idea what she was talking about. “It’s time to start our company,” she explained. In the first year, Noelle’s Dogs Four Hope, which works with volunteer puppy-raisers and experienced trainers, graduated two dogs. Currently, they have 15 graduated teams throughout the United States and approximately 17 more in various stages of training, with 5 more joining the program shortly.

The dogs are required to pass several tests (including the one created by Assistance Dogs International) and master several skills, such as hitting a 911 button, pulling a wheelchair, and fetching medications. Dogs must come back to be tested every year. One tradition that they’ve established is an annual six-day field trip to Disneyland, to help the teams deal with the hustle and bustle of a busy amusement park, including fireworks and waiting on long lines. Long term, the Rivero’s hope to establish a training facility, with a campus, kennels, and a staff veterinarian. For Noelle, the biggest reward is seeing dogs help people like her. “Before I had a Service Dog, I had a lot of fear,” she says. “I love having Alice around, she's a miracle.”