Tricia Weber, 27, began a partnership with a dog on Thanksgiving Day.

Its name is Roxie and it is a trained seizure response dog, partnering with Ms. Weber to call for help when she has a seizure.

Ms. Weber of Covedale has suffered from seizures since she was 6 years old. Now she has a nerve stimulator in her chest. If she suspects she is having a seizure, she can quickly attach a gadget, known as a strong magnet, to the nerve stimulator which will send impulses to her brain to break up the seizure.

But most of her safety is going to depend on how well she and Roxie bond together.

"I am all right with her most of the time,'' Ms. Weber said. "She is sort of like a little sister. She wants to sleep with me every night and she takes all the cover. I am getting to know her better.''

It has been a long, tedious job raising enough money to purchase the dog and for training, said Tricia's mother Debra Weber, a benefit analyst for Humana-ChoiceCare in Walnut Hills.

"The training is going slow,'' Mrs. Weber said. "She is trained very well. She will do what she is told. How well this will work depends a lot on how well we are trained to help the dog respond properly. There has to be a lot of bonding between Roxie and Tricia."

Roxie, a 2-year old German shepherd, will learn to recognize signs, such as jerking body motions, when Ms. Weber is having a seizure. It will be trained to bark or to knock the receiver off a special telephone, which automatically dials 911.

Between trying to work a part-time job, Ms. Weber has to teach Roxie to hit the special phone at least nine times a day. The telephone is not connected while they are practicing.

"Tricia has had two seizures since we have had Roxie,'' Ms. Weber said. "Roxie knew something was going on because she barked, then she went to Tricia and began licking her hands and face. We have to be trained to respond each time the dog barks because it may be sensing that Tricia is about to have a seizure.''

Trainer Loren Lorenzo of Xenia, who has trained more than 1,000 service, search and rescue dogs, has worked with Roxie for five months.

"The bonding seems to be working fine," Mr. Lorenzo said. "We still have work left to do, but once the dog is fully trained, it will be able to recognize when Tricia is about to have a seizure even before she does."

The Cincinnati Concerned Citizens, which set a goal of matching 300 needy families with sponsors to buy Christmas gifts, fell three short of its goal, said the Rev. Raymond Jones, executive director.

"We are not going to give up on trying to find matches for the other three,'' the Rev. Mr. Jones said. "Even if it is done after Christmas, that will be fine.''

This is the second year the group has promoted the program. He said any needy family could get help as long as that family showed an interest in getting a job if there is a family member able to work.

Allen Howard's "Some Good News'' column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.