Now Templeton has gone on to change a life of a teenager who was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a car wreck. Katie’s first service dog died at just 7 years old, leaving her in a very tough position. She depends upon having a service dog to maintain her independence during the afternoons after her caregiver leaves.
At the same time, Templeton made the tough cut for becoming a service dog but his match fell through at the last minute.
Staff at Service Dogs Inc. in Dripping Springs felt so awful for Katie they decided to place Templeton with her despite the fact that she’d moved away to Seattle.
Templeton retrieves things Katie needs such as the remote for the lights so she can go to sleep or an emergency call button/phone. He helps her get undressed and puts her legs back on her wheelchair.
Templeton started out at Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Institute in Brownwood, where his name is painted in huge letters on the wall so that people can see what he has gone on to do, thanks to the partnership between PAWS (Pairing Achievement With Service) and Service Dogs, Inc.
The boy who worked with Templeton, who’s now at Gainesville training another service dog candidate, said, "This dog taught me that just because I started my life wrong in the beginning doesn’t mean I got to end my life like that. He was a dog that I wanted for myself, but I knew he would make a change in someone else’s life. I thought about how many people I could embrace with four paws, more than I ever could with two arms. I am amazed and proud how far he has come along."