I certainly was not given the option to NOT have my service dog and her backpack taken from me when I was robbed. It was only on subsequent flights that I learned that she could stay with me at all times.

I am glad to see a news outlet cover this story. I was robbed by TSA in May and reported it to the news outlets but no one followed up. It was the first time traveling with my service dog. She carries my zipped up wallet in her zipped up back pack. I was told not to put her backpack on the conveyer belt that it would be inspected separately. I was made to give her the command to allow TSA to lead her away, pat her down and inspect her bags. When they pulled my wallet out of the backpack, I was instructed to put my head between my knees so they can pat down my back.
When I arrived in Chicago and tried to pay for the airport shuttle, I discovered that all of my cash was gone from my securely zipped up wallet. I use an over the nek leash that keeps Ebony, my service dog, about three feet from me at the most. It was the only time we were separated.
I reported the theft immediately and months later, my report is still winding its way thru the channels. I don't expect to get my cash back but i do expect to warn others of this transgression. It was our first flight and we learned a lot. In three subsequent passes through TSA, we have always been allowed to run her backpack through the XRay machine, my service dog has not been taken away from me and I have not been requested to stick my head between my knees. Those were three red flags that I was naivete about the first time but I will never let happen again.

Fantastic wrap up, we are trying to get things going for a WordCamp Seattle in September and your advice is invaluable to us!

Danny,
Thank you for your quick reply
I was using that paypal link. I would enter the amount and then log into paypal. Upon submit, the page would refresh with a warning that amount must be greater than 0. I would enter in 10.00 and hit submit and it would refresh and show the error. I even tried different amounts like 10, 10.01, 10.10 and they all returned with amount must be greater than 0
I was really trying to make it work.
I have used blogging in the past to raise money for a variety of causes. With friends, we were able to take care of a beloved mentor for a year as he was dying of brain cancer just on the donations via the blog. I wanted to do my part to support the war kids cause but also to lead credence to social media for social causes.
Bean

I was using that paypal link. I would enter the amount and then enter the log in information for paypal. Upon submit, the page would refresh with a warning that amount must be greater than 0. I would enter in 10.00 and hit submit and it would refresh and show the error. I even tried different amounts like 10, 10.01, 10.10 and they all returned with amount must be greater than 0.
I have successfully logged in to paypal on another web site so it doesn't seem to be an issue with my account.

I think the reason why donations are below target is that there are too many obstacles to actually donating. I tried to donate but no matter what amount I put in the dialog box, paypal would refresh the page and warn me to enter an amount greater than zero. I want to let the powers know my concern so it can be fixed but I have to log in using openid, which I hate. That still isn't enough and I am required to open ANOTHER account and register with intense debate. Three log ins and 10 minutes later, I am frustrated and still haven't been able to donate.
I wonder how many people have tried to donate but gave up in silent frustration? In todays economy it is difficult enough to get people to part with their money. It needs to be much easier and faster!