A Girl With A Disability Has The Most Adorable Helper – A Springer Spaniel Named Ted

This is a heartwarming and sweet story of a girl named Chloé and her wonderful dog named Ted. Chloé has a rare heart condition called orthostatic postural tachycardia syndrome, as well as Ehlers-Danlos, which affects her joints. She has been battling illnesses since she was 13 years old. Thankfully, she has the best helper: Ted does everything for Chloé.

Chloé took Ted in when he was 5 months old and taught him herself. At first, he was afraid of her wheelchair. Now, he knows a bunch of commands that help Chloé live her everyday life. The tasks include picking up her shoes, giving her the items she needs, or even taking off her socks.

Soon, Chloé decided to get involved with Dog Assistance In Disability (Dog AID), a non-profit organization that helps people with physical disabilities to train their own pets to become qualified assistance dogs.

“Me and my main man. Super cheesy but there’s nothing I enjoy more than sitting on a field with him and watching the sun dip below the horizon. This field, in particular, is a haven for birds, there’s so many! It’s lovely listening and watching them. Ted, meanwhile, loves it because it backs onto a school and so there’s a large number of tennis balls to hunt out that have been thrown over. His current record is seven balls found in one evening, I’m sure he’ll beat it soon enough. We don’t play fetch with balls if we can avoid it, it’s not particularly good for their joints, instead, I prefer to hide them in the grass so he can hunt for them. He loves it!”

“A year ago yesterday I went into a hospital appointment and was told I would be admitted for tube feeding. The first thing I said was ‘Ted will be coming with me, that’s ok, right?’ I was in such shock, but even still, the very first thing on my mind was Ted. I couldn’t really comprehend what I was being told, but I knew that with Ted by my side, I could handle anything. My consultant said to expect to be in for a few weeks, 12 weeks later we were finally discharged. I firmly believe that having Ted by my side changed my entire mindset, I wasn’t able to wallow in misery, it was time to take Ted out. I still can’t commend the hospital enough for how amazing they were regarding Ted. But also, all of you. The support we received over those 12 weeks was phenomenal and truly helped so much. What could have been something absolutely awful was made bearable with the best support system I could have asked for. Without Ted, and by default everyone here, I don’t know how I’d have done it.”

“4 years ago today we went into our final assessment with Dog A.I.D. (Assistance In Disability) and passed, making Ted a fully qualified Assistance Dog. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the following 4 years. It’s been the most fantastic whirlwind, I’m incredibly excited to see what the next 4 bring. I hope I’ve made you even a quarter of how happy you’ve made me, buddy.”