Girl With Epilepsy Crowned Miss Dallas Teen 2022 and Service Dog Gets Crown, Too

Sherman teenager Alison Appleby had never been in a pageant before, but when someone told her she couldn't do it, she set out to prove them wrong and succeeded.

Appleby, 17, was crowned Miss Dallas Teen USA 2022 on Sunday, and her service dog in training, Brady, was with her on stage and they stole the show when he was presented with a crown too.

Appleby says she was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago and Brady alerts her to oncoming seizures. The Golden Retriever is in training to fetch her medication in the future.

KTEN

Appleby told KTEN someone overheard a conversation she was having with someone about pageants and told her "you can't do that, because you have a disability, and pageant girls don't have disabilities."

Appleby set out to prove them wrong. She traveled to Dallas with Brady without expectations, but her winning personality put her over the top.

The judges told her it was the interview portion of the pageant that captured the crown.

"One of the things that got them, that made them stop writing and look at me, like 'did you really just say that?' and something I tell a lot of people, is 'just because I have a chronic illness, doesn't mean I'm chronically ill,'" Appleby said.

Brady helped both Alison and her mother throughout the pageant.

"They don't let the parents anywhere near the rehearsal or anything," said Alison's mother Beth Appleby. "I wasn't nervous because she has Brady, who takes good care of her."

In the end, Appleby was presented the crown by Miss Dallas Teen USA 2021 and Miss Dallas USA 2021, after putting the winning sash on Ali, presented Brady with a little crown too.

Miss Dallas Teen USA

Next up for Alison and Brady is a trip to Houston for the Miss Texas pageant in May.

In the meantime, she'll attend charity events and functions. Appleby has held the title of Grand Champion in fundraising for the "Walk to End Alzheimer's" for five consecutive years.

She is also an athlete, competing in archery in the Youth Olympic Games, and hopes to inspire others with similar disabilities.

In the future, she aspires to become a pediatric neurologist specializing in the study of Sanfilippo Syndrome, a form of dementia that affects children.