BY JAIME GATTON

To Sally Nix, Jon Snow is more than just a dog — he’s a lifeline.

Nix suffers from “suicide disease,” or trigeminal neuralgia, which affects the trigeminal nerve that carries sensations to the face. Everyday activities like brushing teeth or eating — even a gust of wind or cold temperatures — can trigger the condition, causing unbearable pain that’s often described as intense, stabbing or “electric shock-like.” While the disease isn’t life-threatening, the pain associated with it is considered “the most excruciating pain known to humanity,” according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Nix has endured five brain surgeries and lives with autoimmune disease. While having her nerves wrapped in Teflon has helped, “there’s always a chance for breakthrough pain,” she said.
Enter Highland Canine Connect and a two-year-old labradoodle named Jon Snow.

Training a lifesaver

In November, Nix applied for a Highland Canine Connect (HCC) service dog. HCC is the four-year-old, non-profit counterpart of Highland Canine Training LLC, a professional dog training and canine education business in Harmony that was founded by Erin Purgason in 2006. Through sponsorships, donations and volunteers, HCC trains service dogs and pairs them with people with disabilities who could benefit from a canine connection.

The nonprofit works to match service dogs with people who are sometimes overlooked, said Purgason. Since 2019, HCC has donated fully-trained service dogs to autistic children/teens, a 9/11 responder, a child in Puerto Rico, a teenage shark-attack victim and now Nix.

On average, it takes 14 to 18 months — and about $15,000 — to provide a fully trained service dog to a person in need. Training begins at puppyhood, and once a dog is matched, it is trained to more specifically meet its person’s needs. For instance, Purgason said, a canine companion will need to learn “bolt and trail” if matched with an autistic child who has demonstrated a tendency to run. Dogs paired with a wheelchair-bound person could take upwards of two years to train, she said. HCC offers lifetime training support for each service dog.

Socialization, which involves teaching dogs to be comfortable around people and in different situations, is a key component of the HCC service-dog training program. Upon request from county schools, HCC volunteers take dogs to sit with struggling readers who may feel more compelled to open a book if they’re reading to a four-legged friend. At Pine Lake Prep in Mooresville, said Purguson, HCC dogs-in-training recently reduced student anxiety during exams.

HCC and its dogs also work with Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County’s Rainbow Kidz Grief Counseling, a service offered at no cost to families and schools. Short grief-counseling sessions in schools offer an ideal time for HCC to take several puppies into a school at once, Purgason said.

“There are so many things we have to do to expose them to the real-life situations they will be in,” she said. “We get them around live music in the schools and put them in groups to help take kids’ minds off of things. We take them to the airport, to the zoo and to Downtown Statesville.

“It’s win-win for us,” she said. “It’s great for our programs and great for the community.”

Matchmaker

Playing matchmaker for a service dog isn’t as easy as it may seem. The process has taken years to perfect, Purgason said, because of the many considerations involved, including the benefit to the recipient’s family, the family’s overall lifestyle and the intended recipient’s personality.

Jon Snow, for instance, was originally set to be paired with an autistic teenager. But when the two met after the extensive application process, it was clear the match wasn’t meant to be. On the other hand, an HCC-trained golden retriever made a perfect match for the teen.

When Jon Snow and Nix were first introduced, Purgason recalled, “it was love at first sight for Sally.

“She wanted to be active and was trying to find ways to get back to living again,” she said.

Separately from her trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis, Nix’s spinal column is degenerating. “I’m doing everything I can to slow the process down,” she said. “Jon Snow is helping me move so I don’t lose mobility. Even if I’m in pain, I walk him.”

If Nix has a bad day, her husband — a marathon runner — can provide Jon Snow with his needed daily exercise. So far, that’s only happened twice, Nix said. She turned to Purgason. “Did I tell you that Jon Snow and I walked five miles over the course of a day the other day?” she asked, glowing with excitement. “Five miles is unheard of for me!”

‘He’s given me a purpose’

Nix said Jon Snow had only been with her six weeks when he started intuitively helping her. “If I’m having a rough day, he will jump on the bed and lay his head on my heart,” she said.

In a recent email, Nix wrote: “I’m pushing through a rough day, but Jon Snow certainly makes it so much easier. He’s currently laying across my lap, applying pressure.”

Dogs sense shifts and changes in human energy, heart rates and pheromones, Purgason said. “They pick up on all of it.”

Nix is currently training Jon Snow to open cabinets and drawers to retrieve medications and ice packs.

“Sally knows she’ll need that eventually, so we start training now,” Purgason explained.

Added Nix: “Jon Snow doesn’t take away my problems; I’m always going to face some challenges. But he is a partner in them and a calming presence for me. Through him, I have more support and independence. I have freedom I haven’t had in 10 years.

“He has given me a part of my life back,” she said. “He’s given me mental clarity and a purpose.”

Paying it forward

Nix said when she applied for an HCC service dog, “Erin saw more than just medical diagnoses on paper. She truly spent time trying to know me — the person, and not just a woman with a disease. She made me feel seen and more understood. That’s a precious thing for someone like me.”

Just like Jon Snow is more than a dog, “Highland Connect is more than a nonprofit,” Nix said. “It’s a group of people dedicated to changing lives, and I am indebted in a way I’ll never be able to repay because of their altruism.”

But she is trying to pay it forward, helping recruit volunteers for a growing number of school requests for HCC therapy assistance. She is also fundraising, Nix said, in an effort to help provide for someone else the blessings she received in Jon Snow.

LEARN MORE

HCC depends on volunteers, sponsorships and donations to provide its fully trained and vetted service dogs to people in need. In addition to veterinary and boarding expenses, the costs of social outings and training gear add up. To volunteer, donate or learn more, visit https://www.highlandcanineconnect.org/.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the April edition of “IFN Monthly.” Our free magazine is now available in dozens of locations throughout Iredell County.