Alison Appleby, a 17-year-old girl from Sherman, Texas, won the Miss Dallas Teen USA 2022 pageant with her service dog in training, Brady, by her side. The golden retriever was also crowned along with Alison. 

The teen, who suffers from epilepsy, expressed her shock in an Instagram post: “Me? A princess? SHUT UP!Seriously though, I’m still in shock. I am officially Miss Dallas Teen 2022. I attended with the intentions of having fun and advocating for other girls with disabilities. Now I am blessed to have many more opportunities to do so!”

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Her win was made special because of her service dog who accompanied her throughout the competition. Brady has been assisting Alison by alerting her to any oncoming seizures and fetching her medication. Alison was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago.

After Tuesday’s win, she told KTEN, “Something I tell a lot of people, is just because I have a chronic illness, doesn’t mean I am chronically ill.”

Alison hopes to inspire others who have similar disabilities. She will prepare for the Miss Texas pageant to be held in May next year.

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Commenting on a video of Alison’s winning moment, a Facebook user wrote: “As a mom of a teen daughter with epilepsy, this made my day! Not because her dog is precious, but because this young woman is living out loud and killin’ it. Congrats to Ali, and thank you for setting an example for girls like mine by living big! And kudos to the volunteers who thought ahead to include Brady in the event that Ali won. Thank you for helping to end a stigma that (beyond all reason) still very much exists. Ali, you are lovely, and the fact that you were voted Miss Congeniality says everything!”