This Disabled Teen Warned Stranger Not To Touch Her Service Dog And Had A Seizure When He Refused To Listen

Hailey Ashmore, 16-year-old from Dallas, TX suffers from few different conditions, including epilepsy, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, reactive hypoglycemia, severe allergies, gastroparesis, and asthma. Hence, she is heavily dependant on her beloved service dog, Flynn, alongside strong medications and around the clock care from her parents and nurses.

“To get a service dog you must be disabled to the point where you can no longer function as a normal quality of life without the assistance of service dogs,” said Hailey.

“It takes around two years of intense training and thousands of dollars (if you owner train) to actually be able to call your dog a service dog. A service dog can go anywhere its handler goes, with the exception of a sterile environment such as an operating room or burn unit, a religious building — such as a church, or some federal buildings,” she said.

Furthermore, Hailey urges people to avoid, under any circumstances, petting or distracting a service dog who is caring for a vulnerable person. They are cute animals, but they are doing a very important job!

Watch Hailey’s story to find out exactly why she is pleading with strangers to get them to stop petting her dog without permission.

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Pictures: Hailey Ashmore/Instagram

h/t: littlethings