A dog changed her life: though both suffer from debilitating diseases, Gabrielle Ford and her dog, Izzy, travel across the U.S. to deliver an important message to high school students.(REAL-LIFE READS: THE Cosmo Post)(Brief article)

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When she was in high school, Gabrielle "Gabe" Ford never imagined that she'd make a career out of public speaking. That's because, as a 12-year-old, she was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia, a neuromuscular disease that degenerated her speech and motor skills.

Gabe endured the cruel taunting of her classmates, who mocked her loss of physical coordination and ability to speak the way she once had. "They called me names and tripped me in the hall," she recalls.

The disease progressed, and Gabe emerged from high school lonely, reclusive, and--understandably--angry. "Everything in my life was going downhill," she says. "That's why I asked my mom for a dog. I was looking for unconditional love." She got her wish in the form of Izzy, a coonhound puppy.

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But when Izzy was just 1 year old, a surgery revealed a liver condition that was affecting her coordination and balance--symptoms similar to Gabe's. The need to take her ailing dog to vet appointments, she says, ...