Nancy Pierson’s path to providing support to kids started with one special dog
These days, Nancy Pierson, who describes herself as “founder, president, CEO, trainer and head pooper scooper” of PALS (Paws As Loving Support) is known for being the best resource for service dogs for autistic children, emotional support dogs for a variety of circumstances and a “facility dogs” for places like therapy facilities, the courthouse and juvenile facilities.
But her path was started with an extraordinary experience with a Golden Retriever named Peyton.
Pierson and her family moved to Sebastopol in 1992 from Southern California, and part of the deal she struck with her daughter at the time was they would buy property with enough land to raise a service puppy. “Puppy Raisers” typically care for a puppy for the first year of its life, socializing and providing basic training and experience, before it returns for training and evaluation.
A female puppy they raised for Canine Companions For Independence (which specializes in dogs for people with physical disabilities) was deemed of high enough quality to be a breeding dog for the group, and she returned to the Pierson’s for that purpose.
One of their litters produced a female puppy named Peyton, who showed a lot of promise, but was ultimately not accepted into CCI’s program.
“We got her back, and she became a social therapy dog,” Pierson said.
Peyton and Pierson spent a lot of time visiting patients at Santa Rosa Memorial hospital and became one of the few teams permitted in the ICU. It was there Pierson would have an encounter that would change her life.
They had been visiting an elderly patient, when Ron Connelly, the father of a teenage girl, motioned her over. Alexis, 18, had been airlifted in after a car accident and was in a coma.
“I just thought that she was heavily sedated, because you don’t know and you’re not supposed to ask,” she said. “We had to clear it with nurse and doctors, but went in and thought at first we were just visiting with dad, because he was a wreck. But, he asked if there was some way I could position Peyton so I could pick up her hand and put it on her head because she loved animals.
“We’re not allowed to touch the patients, but I got Peyton to put her nose against her hand. Her head was turned away from us, but I said ‘If you want to feel the softest ears you’ve ever felt, like velvet, move your hand over to her ear.’ A couple of nurses were looking in and on her own she turned her head, the monitors started to change and she opened her eyes.
“Was it because the dog was there? Maybe, maybe not. Was her brain ready to come out of the coma and it was coincidental, maybe, but a couple of the nurses said, ‘we didn’t think a dog belonged in here, but now you’ve made us believers.”
Doctors warned Alexis’ family that if she emerged from the coma, which they doubted, she would likely be paralyzed on her left side, so Pierson and Peyton continued to visit her, concentrating on the left side and then followed along when she was released from the hospital to rehab.
Pierson noticed that her motivation to interact with Peyton, to give her commands or to pet her, helped create breakthroughs in her rehabilitation.
Today, Alexis Peterson is a happily married mother of two working for the Boy Scouts of America, and with almost no signs of the catastrophic detour she took. She and her father have stayed in touch and are regular donators to PALS.
“It’s a very wonderful success story,” Pierson said. “That was my first real encounter seeing the impact service dogs make in peoples lives.”
Today PALS has a wide-ranging program, involving raising and training their own services dogs for autistic children and youth focused service dogs for facilities and public use, as well as training volunteer teams for emotional support activities at schools, airports, senior facilities and events. They are also starting a program with incarcerated youth, having them assist with puppy training.
“We see little miracles all the time,” Pierson said. “How these dogs can impact people, it’s life changing.”
Peyton has since died, but her influence over Pierson and PALS continues to ripple outwards and touch the lives of other families.
Recently, Pierson went to Sonoma raceway to receive three new recruits—puppies who were named in honor of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who drove his last race before retirement at Sonoma. “Dale,” “Junior” and “Amy” (named after Earnhardt’s wife) were part of a press conference.
“Dale was pretty blown away and really excited to find out the puppies will be raised to help children in the Bay Area, as service or facility dog, and he was excited to hear that incarcerated youth would be helping with their training. It’s really healing all the way around,” she said.
A fitting legacy to a puppy named Peyton.
To learn more about PALS, its programs and volunteer opportunities, support teams or if you are interested in applying for a service dog, check out www.pawsaslovingsupport.org.
