Texas Teen with autism and epilepsy wins Miss Dallas pageant with service dog by her side
Alison Appleby from Sherman, Texas, has been crowned Miss Dallas Teen USA 2022 with her companion seizure alert dog Brady by her side.
Aged only 17-years-old and living with autism and epilepsy, Appleby entering and winning her first ever pageant show as a disabled person once seemed unimaginable.
In an interview [via Fox News], Appleby shared that she was “just thrilled to go” since competing in pageants has always been a dream but always seemed an unreachable one.
"I’ve always dreamed of being a pageant girl, but it just never seemed like I could do it," she said. “I was terrified the whole time… but having Brady by my side made it so much easier. He is my support through it all.”
The new pageant Queen confessed her main goal while competing was to be present with her service dog and to ultimately “show people that you can do it with a disability.”
At the ceremony, which took place on October 9th, both Appleby and Brady were presented with crowns. The Golden Retriever wasn’t the biggest fan of his new headpiece to begin with, making it evident by shaking it to the ground, however Appleby was in awe of Brady receiving a crown too.
“When they crowned Brady, my heart sunk — my heart absolutely melted,” the pageant newcomer said. “He didn’t like it at first, but he got used to it pretty fast.”
Jennifer Ortiz, the Miss Dallas pageant director, admitted the tiny crown for Brady was *luckily* purchased as soon as officials discovered the pair would be competing in the pageant – just in case Applyby won.
Ortiz then spoke on how “fantastic” the whole experience was being able to crown Appleby and Brady together. “Alison really won the entire pageant,” she said. “She was just absolutely amazing — the way that she spoke, she was very intelligent, and very communicative with our judges.
“She’s just a phenomenal woman all the way around,” Ortiz added.
Ortiz claimed her focus for 2022 was to be inclusive. “To see someone come in that represents spreading that awareness so well, and she was just phenomenal from the start, it was very heart-warming to see her crowned,” she said.
Reminiscing on the day, Appleby said it took her a couple of days for her win to sink in. “I’m still in shock about it,” she said. “I never expected this to happen.”
Having never competed in a pageant before and with no prior training, Appleby said her aim is to prove to everyone that having a disability “doesn’t mean you shouldn’t chase your dreams. "The judges didn’t let my disability change how they saw me — they judged me as a person.”
In true pageant style, Appleby had a strong message to tell the world.
“I think that we all have the inner strength that we can pull from and that can sometimes shine despite any limitations that you have.
"Don’t let your setbacks make you give up on your dreams," she added. "You can do it and you can be successful. You don’t have to give up on life just because you have an illness."
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