A Service Dog for Tyler

Fall of 2015 I got a job as a receptionist at Black Horse Animal Hospital in Kinzers, Pennsylvania. Here I met Elizabeth Padgett, a young mother of two who also shared my passion for the animal world. I instantly liked her. She was hardworking, eager to learn and came to work every day cheerful and bubbly. She was easy to talk to. I soon learned about her and her family.

Liz grew up in a very conservative family so when she and military husband Shawn got married and had their first son Nicholas at 19, she vowed to provide them with everything and anything they could ever need and that’s exactly what she has done. Nicholas the oldest of their two sons has a condition known as Juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis and Tyler the youngest of the Padgett’s two sons has a seizure disorder known as Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy as well as Asperger’s.

Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy comes in many forms. Tyler suffers from two types. The types of seizures affecting patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy can include Myoclonic seizures. These seizures are sudden and have a very short duration featuring jerking of the extremities, the second are Absence seizures involving staring spells and the third is Generalized tonic-clonic seizures or grand mal seizures. Liz remembers Tyler’s first seizure was a Grand mal seizure at age 2. The Padgett’s are happy to say that with medication, Tyler’s seizures are under control.

Tyler also has Asperger’s which is a form of autism that affects basic skills most notable social skills and communication. Although on the autism spectrum individuals that have Asperger's have normal if not above average intelligence. Padgett says that Tyler is extremely intelligent and describes him like a walking encyclopedia, he just doesn’t know how to communicate his knowledge to others. Asperger’s is also characterized by repetitive behavior, rituals, limited ranges of interest in which individuals hyper focus on only a few areas of interest and coordination problems.

Liz and Shawn first noticed milestone delays in Tyler when he was 12 months old. He seemed to make no eye contact and his motor skills were not of clinical standard at the time. As time went on when it came to potty training, “It was a struggle” Liz said. “Normal children are potty trained around 2-3 years of age, but Tyler didn’t hit that milestone until he was 5.” Unfortunately, it is hard to diagnose an individual with Asperger’s when they are young especially because doctors do not want to put a label on something that can not be taken back entirely. Tyler also was considered high functioning so a diagnosis was tricky. That is why it wasn’t until last year at the age of nine that Tyler was officially diagnosed with Asperger's. Up until then he was labelled as developmentally delayed with a seizure disorder.

While talking to Liz she spoke with an air of normalcy and confidence. When asked how these diagnoses has affected the family’s life she was unsure how to answer. She said when your child is born with a condition or illness it becomes your life, you do not have time really to plan, you just have to take it as it. “Tyler is Tyler. He was born this way. We live it, we adapt and at the end of the day we just want the best for him”. Tyler is highly intelligent. He absolutely loves to learn especially about history. He also loves to build with Legos and is a huge animal fanatic. In fact, he aspires to be a zoo keeper, but he more specifically would like to work with the lions. Liz and Shawn speak very strongly and lovingly of their son. They say he has the biggest heart and always see’s the best in everyone. Like any mother and father, Liz and Shawn aspire for Tyler to be happy, healthy and successful in whatever his heart desires.

Since Tyler’s recent and official diagnosis, Liz and Shawn were given suggestions of getting a therapy dog for Tyler. This dog would be trained specifically for Tyler and help in many aspects of his life to help him become more independent. For his safety he currently wears a harness leashed backpack in crowded situations. Lots of people can be very overwhelming for Tyler triggering him to run. Without the harness he may be lost in large crowds or run into a busy street of cars. His therapy dog would be trained to sit down if Tyler is triggered and with a tether attached from the dog to Tyler’s waist, anchoring him would prevent him from running away. The therapy dog will also be a sound board for Tyler’s anxieties and open up an avenue for Tyler to interact with people. This not only will help Tyler better handle his triggers, but also help him develop better communication skills. Tyler’s therapy dog will also give the family a peace of mind. Liz says she barely sleeps because she is worrying about her son who also is a restless sleeper. Tyler now is able to open doors and even chain locks which means at any time he could leave the house so the therapy dog would be able to alert the family if Tyler is up out of bed at night.

At this time therapy dogs can be very costly which is unfortunately one reason why the family has not made that step to adopt a therapy dog. Conservatively the family expects to need around $5000. Not only does training which can be around $2500 just to cover training for Asperger’s let alone seizures need to be factored in, but travel costs for the family to be involved in the training for Tyler’s personal care which could span a week or more as well as accessories for the therapy dog including a service harness and vest. This also includes the basic costs of adopting a dog such as crate, toys, food and other necessities. Despite the costs Liz and Shawn feel this dog will provide so many valuable services for Tyler. Tyler’s school district has already approved and fully support their family in this endeavor to adopt and train a therapy dog.

As the owner of Precious Paw Prints Jewelry and a friend of Liz, I am more than thrilled to embark on this journey with the Padgett family to help Tyler adopt a therapy dog. We have set up a go fund me page where the community can donate to this wonderful family and awesome cause. Furthermore, until this money is raised 10% of the all sales of Precious Paw Prints Jewelry will be donated to Tyler and his service dog. Please take the time to read his story, spread the word, and donate to this wonderful cause.

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