Teen's adoption of shelter dog helps manage debilitating seizures, wins $25K for Anderson Humane
The story of how an East Dundee teenager’s adoption of a shelter dog helped keep her debilitating seizures in check earned Anderson Humane a $25,000 prize from Petco Love on Monday.
Alanna Law, a senior at Dundee-Crown High School, submitted the story of her adoption of Dahlia to the annual Petco Love Stories campaign.
The story, which included Law saying of Dahlia, “She’s more than just a dog — she’s my partner, my protector, and my best friend,” helped the South Elgin shelter to be one of 25 organizations nationwide to win prizes ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
Dean Daubert, CEO of Anderson Humane, said the shelter finds homes for nearly 4,000 dogs and cats each year. He said a thousand of those adoptions come from their partnership with the Bloomingdale Petco and other locations.
“This money will help us so much in providing the needed medical (care), vaccinations, spay and neuters, and really keep this engine rolling,” he said.
Law, 18, said she has suffered from crippling anxiety since she was 12. In 2020, she was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, a rare condition that causes non-epileptic seizures and ticks.
She said she was having at least two seizures daily for a period of time before she got Dahlia, causing her to miss school for a month and a half, which had a serious impact on her grades.
She’s only suffered three seizures so far this school year.
“I’ve gone from being a C student all the way back to being an A student,” she said.
Dahlia provides pressure therapy, where the dog's weight and warmth can help relieve anxiety and prevent seizures from taking hold.
“She keeps my anxiety low,” she said. “She sleeps with me, so I don’t have seizures in the middle of the night.”
For her winning submission, Law and Dahlia received a $500 Petco gift card, in addition to shoes from BOBS from Skechers, which partners with Petco for the awards.
Law, who already had three cats her family adopted from Anderson, said Dahlia chose her when she visited the shelter in September 2023.
“She walked over and sat on me, and I’m like, ‘OK, I guess you’re mine now’,” she said.