Stonington — Seven-year-old Sakari Everett’s favorite purple pumpkin has wild curly hair festooned with pipe cleaners and a Cyclops eye like one of the minions from “Despicable Me II.”

“It’s silly,” she told her teacher, Jennifer Fister, on Thursday, when asked why she liked it best.

Silly or not, that purple pumpkin and the other creatively dressed ones decorating the sensory garden at West Vine Street School are part of a serious and laudable activity at the elementary school, The Purple Pumpkin Project. Each class created its own purple pumpkin, and students are selling paper pumpkins for $1 each as one of the ways the school — and the entire community — is helping raise money and awareness for second-grader Henry Lloyd. 

Henry has refractory epilepsy, and he and his family are on a quest for a service dog and better understanding about the seizure-inducing condition.

“It’s a good way to come together and show caring for others,” Fister said, as her students checked out the different pumpkins, some made to look like bats, superheroes or abstract sculptures. “The students understand that everybody is different and that we all learn differently.”

Principal Alicia Dawe said the purple pumpkin event was timed for Epilepsy Awareness Month in November.

“We did it last year and loved it so much, we did it again this year,” said Dawe, who joined other staff in wearing purple T-shirts on Thursday as part of the event.

Funds raised in the pumpkin project will go toward the $17,000 the Lloyd family is raising for a specially trained dog for Henry from 4 Paws for Ability. That amount is about half the cost of training — the Ohio-based nonprofit group covers the rest. Thus far, it has placed 206 seizure assistance dogs with children since it began in 1998, according to Kelly Camm, development director for 4 Paws.

The dogs, she said, are trained to predict seizures by responding to chemical body change that occurs before a seizure, and then to alert an adult. The dogs can predict about 85 percent of seizures before they happen, she said.

“4 Paws Service Dogs are rigorously trained, starting as puppies, to perform tasks and provide support for people living with a seizure disorder,” she said. Golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, goldendoodles and papillons are among the breeds most often used.

Henry’s mother, Linda Lloyd, said fundraising began in September, and already $15,000 has been donated toward the dog. In addition to $17,000 for the dog, the family also is trying to raise the $5,000 to $6,000 they will need for travel and lodging during the two-week stay at the Ohio facility when they are paired with a dog and learn how to work with it.

“We’ve gotten some very generous anonymous donations,” she said. “The school and the whole community have been very supportive.”

The community will have several more chances to show support, with a pancake breakfast at Stonington High School  from 8 to 11 a.m. Dec. 4. In addition, three local restaurants — Breakwater, Go Fish and Steak Loft — will donate 15 percent of the tab from diners who say they are there on behalf of Henry Lloyd.

Once the funds are raised, Linda Lloyd said, they’ll get on the 4 Paws schedule for a dog in training. They’ve already been sending the shirts Henry is wearing when he has a seizure to the organization, which is acquainting several dogs in training to the smell to eventually find the one that responds best.

“It could be 18 to 24 months before we get a dog,” she said.

The dog will help keep her son safe, especially as he grows, she said.

“He has seizures in his sleep, so he has to sleep with us, and he can’t be in the bathroom or upstairs alone,” she said. “It impacts his ability to develop. The dog will be really beneficial for him. It will give him confidence.”

j.benson@theday.com

Upcoming fundraisers for Henry Lloyd's service dog

Upcoming fundraisers for Henry Lloyd's service dog:

Nov. 30 at Breakwater restaurant, 15 percent of tab will be donated.

Dec. 1 at Go Fish and Steak Loft restaurants, 15 percent of tab will be donated.

Dec. 4, 8 to 11 a.m., at Stonington High School, pancake breakfast. Tickets are $7 for adults, free for children age 5 and younger. Tickets available at West Vine, West Broad and Stonington High schools.