Wallace the Old English Sheepdog set himself apart at an early age.
As a puppy, “Wallace was relaxed and chill, lumbering around the in slow motion like Snuffalupagus off Sesame Street,” his owner, Allison Redgrave LaField, tells PEOPLE, adding that the baby dog was almost “too calm” for a puppy.
LaField, the head swim coach for the Masters Team at the Alamo Heights Independent School District (ISD) in Texas, had long dreamed of caring for a sheepdog. So, when Wallace became available for adoption in May 2020 at the rescue where she volunteered, she acted quickly.
Post-adoption, Wallace, now 4, showed his new owner that his unusually calm demeanor as a puppy was not an act.
“He’s never cranky, snappy, uncooperative, or vocal. Wallace is just Wallace. He’s a unicorn. He’s a different kind of dog. He’s an old soul in dog form. He’s not like any dog I’ve ever encountered,” LaField says of Wallace.
While the sheepdog is relaxed, he is not lazy. Wallace often goes out of his way to help others, including LaField, who says she owes her life to the dog.
Not long after adopting Wallace, LaField started to experience episodic seizures. LaField believes the first of these events happened several years ago when she fell while adjusting her automatic pool cleaner.
Courtesy of Allison LaField
“! had a fall — most likely the first episodic event — broke my hip, got a concussion,sion and somehow found myself on the bottom of the deep end of the swimming pool, quite dazed and confused,” LaField recalls of the frightening moment.
Disoreitened and at the bottom of the deep end, LaField struggled to find her way to the surface. As a swim coach, she knew to stay calm and “save every ounce of air in my lungs.” Luckily, Wallace, who was nearby when LaField fell into the pool, also knew he had to act.
“All of a sudden, there’s a giant splash, and these big feet are moving through the water, and with the kick or stroke he took, he pulled down air bubbles I could see from the bottom — he was the way up,” LaField shares.
She followed the air bubbles up to the surface, where Wallace awaited. The dog “stayed by my side and got me to the edge of the pool. He never left me,”
“I was still breathing because of this dog. That dog knew I was in trouble and acted like a trained lifeguard,” she adds.
LaField clarifies that Wallace has never received seizure alert dog training; “He just seemed to know. He knows a lot of things. It’s like the dog has special powers.”
Courtesy of Allison LaField
After saving LaField from the pool, Wallace has started to alert his owner to her subsequent seizures.
“When I’m about to have an episodic event, Wallace begins panting, pacing, and lifting his right arm, almost as if he’s saluting me repetitively. If I don’t pay attention to him or clue up to what he’s saying, he gets restless, amps up his behavior,” LaField says.
These warning signs from Wallace allow the coach to find a safe space to rest before the seizure onset, making LaField less likely to experience injury during the event.
The rescue dog has also used “special powers” to bring support to strangers and LaField’s swimmers.
“He reads people. He senses their emotional and mental states and, at times, their medical state. He can spot someone in need in a crowd and walk straight over to them,” says LaField, adding that oftentimes, these strangers will have just gone through a loss or be managing PTSD.
At the pool where LaField works, Wallace quickly noticed when a swimmer was struggling, allowing lifeguards more time to assist people in need.
Courtesy of Allison LaField
After repeatedly watching Wallace use his skills and senses to help others, LaField, with encouragement from one of her master swimmers, signed the sheepdog up for the therapy dog training program at the Brooke Army Medical Center.
Wallace excelled at the rigorous training program and emerged as a certified therapy dog ready to help people in need at hospitals, schools, pools, and other locations.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Currently, Wallace does therapy work at the Alamo Heights ISD Natatorium in the military and amputee programs and at the Alamo Heights Middle School. Also, he does therapy work for Texas Para Regional Sports, the Veterans Administration Hospital, Harbour Hospice, and Ft. Sam Houston Military Base in the Soldier Recovery Unit,” LaField lists.
Unsurprisingly, Wallace has improved a lot of lives. His dedication to comforting others earned him a 2024 AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence. Wallace won the therapy dog category.
Courtesy of Allison LaField
The honor was a moment of excitement for LaField, who has watched her dog change lives for years.
“I was really excited for him. Wallace is a very unique dog that brings people together and I believe makes people feel better. So having this award given to Wallace confirms how truly special and gifted his talents are,” the proud dog mom says.
Humble Wallace seems unaffected by his big win, according to LaField. Instead, the dog has remained focused on supporting others.
“Wallace will continue doing therapy work for as long as he likes, as long as he’s happy, content, and enjoying his work and the people he visits. I suspect he will continue to amaze me with new skills out of the blue from time to time,” LaField adds.
She hopes Wallace’s story encourages others to see therapy animals as “highly intuitive, intelligent, and caring creatures” that sometimes can “know a human better than the human knows themselves.”
