Shy Boy With Dyslexia Finds Confidence to Read to His Disabled Rescue Dog

A dyslexic boy has found the courage and confidence to read, with a little help from his beloved disabled rescue dog.

When Ruth Gentry's son Roan started school in September 2022, his mom immediately knew something was off. "He became a different child at school and was having behavioral problems like I have never seen," Gentry told Newsweek.

"He was escaping to the bathroom to get away from class everyday, having problems with other kids, and coming home crying and angry."

That is when Sammy the dog came into their lives. A few months earlier, the single mom from Nevada and her young son had suffered the heartbreak of losing their two senior rescue dogs within three weeks of each other.

"One of the dogs was a black Labrador we had had since she was a puppy. I took care of her until she died of bone cancer at age 15." Gentry said. "She used to sleep in Roan's room."

Hoping that a new dog would provide Roan with the support he needed to adjust to the demands of school, they turned to Churchill Animal Protection Society (CAPS), where they soon met Sammy and learned about his heartbreaking story.

"Sammy's litter was thrown out to die, and he was very ill, the worst of them," Gentry said. The dogs were abandoned on a piece of land in Schurz in Mineral County to fend for themselves. At some point, Sammy's mother disappeared, leaving her puppies to survive on scraps provided by local residents.

When the pups were finally rescued by CAPS, Sammy was in a dire state of health, badly malnourished, infested with ticks, and lethargic to the point where some wondered if he was still alive. However, that intervention and the treatment that came with it saw him emerge as the energetic and happy puppy he was supposed to be.

That same precocious pup made an instant impression on them when Gentry and Roan visited the shelter. "The first thing Sammy did was come up and lick Roan's face," Gentry said. "It was an instant connection."

Sammy quickly became a rock to the boy. "He helped us with our grief and helped me get Roan to school," Gentry said. "I could see it was helping Roan emotionally after school as he would often come home and curl up with Sammy and pass out, he was so exhausted."

For a time, Sammy was happy and healthy. However, at around 10 months old, disaster struck when Sammy slipped and badly injured himself. A visit to a veterinary hospital brought with it a worrying diagnosis: Sammy had a torn ACL and fractured floating kneecap in one back leg.

Two expensive surgeries followed, with Gentry shelling out over $10,000 to try to fix the problem. But, by the second surgery, it was determined that the knee was no longer repairable and amputation was advised.

Seeking a second opinion, Gentry took Sammy to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. However, at around this time, the dog's other back leg began to fail him as well.

It got to the point where Sammy could hardly go out to the toilet without needing to be carried. Amid fears that this remaining back leg would struggle to handle the extra strain any amputation would cause, the vets at UC Davis recommended a wheelchair and special leg brace in the hopes of strengthening the remaining leg ahead of any potential amputation.

Gentry said there were dark times when she considered returning Sammy to the shelter. However, when she spoke to Roan about the possibility, she said she remembered his response, "mommy but you said rescue is forever." Gentry said she thought back to all those nights when Roan would come home from school and collapse in the warm comfort and embrace of his dog.

"I knew Roan had some issues or learning disabilities that had not been diagnosed yet and giving up Sammy would send the wrong message to him," Gentry said. Instead, she promised to do whatever it takes to keep Sammy by Roan's side.

Gentry had suspected Roan had dyslexia long before he was officially diagnosed in April 2023. By the age of 7, he was unable to read a single word and would tell her things like, "I hate reading; it is too hard," and try to avoid it wherever possible at school.

Roan is far from a minority, though. The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity estimates dyslexia affects around 20 percent of the population. It is the world's most common neuro-cognitive disorder and represents 80 to 90 percent of all those with learning disabilities.

Despite it being a relatively common issue, Gentry was dismayed at the "minimal support" Roan's school could offer, which amounted to 20 minutes a day of reading intervention. Gentry and her ex-husband, who co-parents Roan, sought out external help, with several advocates for dyslexia support putting her in touch with a tutoring program in California called Lindamood-Bell.

Gentry estimates they spent over $20,000 in getting Roan on a two-hour-a-day computer-based tutoring program. It was intensive, but he wasn't alone on that journey. "Sammy was always by Roan's side through it all," Gentry said.

Fast-forward to today, and Roan is a boy transformed. "The tutoring has been life changing for Roan and all of us," Gentry said. "I have my son back now. He no longer has behavioral issues in school. He is no longer depressed."

Proof of that can be found in the video Gentry uploaded to TikTok and Instagram under the handle @sammys_chairot_of_fire showing Roan happily reading to his friend and emotional support dog Sammy.

"He is still shy about reading, but Sammy helps him with this," Gentry said. "Roan now wants to read a book every night to Sammy. He used to throw books across the room. The transformation has been amazing!"

Gentry hasn't given up hope of Sammy one day walking again unaided and has even set up a GoFundMe to help cover the thousands she has shelled out in caring for the rescue pup. For now, though, she is happy with him exactly as he is. "We don't see Sammy as disabled," Gentry said. "We just see him as the amazing dog he is."

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