Chloe has been battling illness since she was 13 years old. She has orthostatic postural tachycardia syndrome, which is a rare syndrome affecting her heart, as well as Ehlers-Danlos which attacks her joints.
Fortunately, she also has a springer spaniel named Ted who is her best friend and helper.
A post shared by Chloé & Ted (@tedtheassistancedog) on
She can’t help but gush about her adorable assistant on Instagram, writing:
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 amount 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 grass so he can hunt for them. He loves it!
A post shared by Chloé & Ted (@tedtheassistancedog) on
Ted came into Chloe’s like when he was five months old. Since their first day together, when he was too fearful of her wheelchair to even approach her, Chloe has trained Ted using hand motions.
A post shared by Chloé & Ted (@tedtheassistancedog) on
Now Chloe works with the non-profit Dog Assistance In Disability (Dog AID), helping others train their own dogs to assist them because of their limited mobility. When you have a dog’s love and devotion, you can face any challenges.
