Dog helps calm Apex student's seizures so she can return to school

The brain injury left Chloe with debilitating seizures that required her to use a wheelchair and forced her to leave school.

"She would fall wherever she was. We never knew when they were going to happen, when they would come," her mother, Stephanie Veeder said of the seizures.

In June, Chloe got Chick, who alerts her up to 40 minutes in advance of a seizure by picking up on the changing scent of her body chemistry.

"He will come up to me. He will bump me with his nose. He will make it clear," she said.

Chick has allowed the 13-year-old to return to class at Apex Middle School. The advance warning lets her go to a safe room in the school with a teaching assistant and lie down until the seizure passes.

Chick lies on top of her in what's called deep pressure therapy.

"Seizures that [used to] last anywhere up to an hour and a half now last 30 seconds to a minute," Chloe said.

Shortening the seizures lessens the risk of injury. The Epilepsy Foundation says common injuries from a seizure include bruises, cuts, burns and falls.

"He has changed our lives. She can do things that we never though she would be able to do again," Veeder said. "I never thought a dog could do that – give us Chloe's life back, give her her childhood back."

Chloe agrees.

"Things as simple as walking or using the bathroom alone that most people don't even think about were things that were all taken away," she said. "I like to say he's given me more than I ever had before."

Apex Middle Principal Monica Yllanes said the school community has embraced the pair.

"It's been a great experience. It's wonderful to see the impact Chick has had on Chloe, and it's good for us to share that with the other kids," Yllanes said.

"People, when they come up, they say, 'Chick is your best friend.' I'm like, 'No, he's like my right leg,'" Chloe said.