Dog, owner battle bullies
DUO’S STORY DRAWS ATTENTION OF TV’S ANIMAL PLANET

GRAND RAPIDS — Gabrielle Ford’s message was twofold: Bullying is bad, but dogs are awesome.

Somewhat incongruous, sure, until you hear her story of how bullies at school turned her into a recluse. Only through a near-disaster involving her beloved coonhound Izzy did Ford regain control of her life.

With Izzy sleeping by her side, Ford, 27, told more than 400 St. Anthony of Padua students all about it Wednesday afternoon.

At 12, Ford was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, a progressive neuromuscular disease. She lost her coordination. Her speech became slurred. She had to give up her dream of becoming a ballerina.

A year later, her family moved to Fenton, and things got even worse.

“They could see I was different. That made me more of a target,” Ford said of her classmates at Lake Fenton High School in Genesee County. “They’d shove me in the hallway, try to make me trip or stumble. Most of the time I would.”

By the time she graduated, her disease had progressed to the point where she could barely walk. Her mother’s intervention helped curb the bullying, although the shoving and name-calling continued to some degree throughout high school.

“The effects of it didn’t really show until after that,” she said.

After high school, friends never came to visit and Ford ventured out less and less.

“I became lonely and depressed. I didn’t want to go out in public. I had so many fears from being bullied in school,” she said.

And then came Izzy. “I was hoping by having a dog I’d have a best friend,” she said.

Her mom, Rhonda Hillman, agreed to the coonhound puppy only if her daughter would take care of it. Six months later when Izzy got really sick, Ford was the one who had to talk to veterinarians about the pup’s nearly fatal liver condition. To get Izzy to appointments, Ford finally began using her wheelchair.

“I give Izzy all the credit for helping me over my fears,” she told the students.

The cable TV network Animal Planet heard about the duo and featured Gabe and Izzy on a segment of “Pet Story” in 2004, where Ford talked of the devastation of bullying and the rewards of dog ownership. That’s about the time Gabe and Izzy’s story took a bizarre twist: Izzy began stumbling, just as her owner had years before. Izzy was diagnosed with a progressive muscular problem.

“The two of us take coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E,” Ford said. “She needs me and I need her.”

“Gabe keeps me going as well,” said Ford’s mom, who joined her in Grand Rapids. “She’s got a lot of inner wisdom.”

The anti-bullying message struck a chord with students, Principal Julie Whelan said.

“She went through a lot of hard stuff,” Claire Dettloff, 10, said. “Since she’s speaking all over the U.S., it might affect people about treating others the way they should be treated.”

For more information on Ford, visit her Web site at www.gabeandizzy.com.

Reprinted with permission