Florida teen with Tourette's and his dog spread positive message that being different is OK

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A 16-year-old Florida teen with Tourette's Syndrome is getting famous online with social media devoted to the adventures of him and his dog named “Callum the Ridgy.”

"I created the page to show awareness, to show that you are not different nor normal and it's better to be weird than normal," said Shane Koch, who was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome at eight years old.

His dog Callum has been his healer for a year.

"He notices when I do the tics, he'll nudge me," said Koch. "He can literally sense when I do those ticks and as I feel it coming and a lot of that stress will go away."

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Before their time together, the teen couldn’t control his tics, and his illness left him the butt of the joke.

"I got made fun of by teachers and students, sometimes I would get in trouble for them."

The boy and his dog – together has made all the difference.

Their TikTok page has more than 1.4 million followers.

"My dog is what helps me with my Tourettes," Koch told CBS 12 News. "Having a dog, it doesn't even need to be a therapy dog, it will just distract you and want to play, and he just helps so much."