03/18/2026
When I was originally approached by my principal to be observed by members of the Board of Education of Jefferson County Schools during their bi-annual walk through, I had butterflies in my stomach. This wasn't so much that I didn't have a good lesson that met the PE content standards, but because I am working with a service dog. This was my instant gut reaction before she could even explain that they wanted to see Bella in action. Bella is a labradoodle breed and just shy of a year and a half years old. I consider her my guardian angel because it was truly a miracle how I ended up with a mild mannered, calm, patient dog that could be used as a service dog.
Here's the backstory about Bella's journey with me. On October 16th, 2024, a coworker had a litter of 7 labradoodles which she marked with different color collars and called them by their color collar to avoid later confusion by the new owners changing their name. Pink Pink was her name for 10 weeks. During this time, I was deciding if I should adopt her to have as a service dog and what tasks she could perform for me. I talked the decision over with my family and they wearily agreed so long as my wife could name her. She decided on Bella and though I wanted Luna, she is definitely a Bella or as we refer to her as Benelobean or Bella boots because of her adorable feet. On the December 20th teacher workday, my coworker brought Bella in to me to bring home for the first time. We refer to this as her gotcha day. She was just a small ball of fluff and so adorable. Throughout the course of the next year, I spent countless hours training and learning training methodologies to get Bella ready for the board and train with Country Roads Canine Training in Charles Town. Which, by the way, is directly across the street from my work. While training with Erika Webb, lead trainer and owner, Bella blossomed, learned and transitioned remarkably into a full-fledged working service dog. I had no idea of what to expect, but throughout the process Erika sent videos and pictures of her training and slowly I saw her transform into an amazing animal. Even Erika knew she was a special dog from the time we started training as a puppy and she trained a lot of dogs. I just had no idea of the progress she could make so quickly in the right hands.
Back to my story...ok so immediately, my mind starts thinking of all the crazy and outrageous things that could go wrong because what teacher actually likes being watched while we teach. Well, some do, but I do NOT! I instantly worry about whether the kids will behave or answer questions correctly and down the rabbit hole I spiral. Ironically, I never worried about Bella's behavior even though that is who they came to see.
Much to my delight, they marveled at her steadfast attention to me throughout their observation and even mentioned they saw her easily mirror my movements and ignore everything from kids to balls and all of the many moving parts associated with a physical education classroom. Her loyalty and devotion to me is easily observed, but it's because of the hours spent together training that have gotten her to this point. We still have more tasks I would like to add to her repertoire such as touching mobility assist buttons to open doors and retrieval of objects I may need or drop out of reach, but I feel she is ready for any task I ask of her.
So why then am I writing this letter? Many reasons, but mainly because I want to act as an ambassador for hope for others that may need a service dog in the public school. I may have a disability that causes the need for a service animal to mitigate certain issues, but I feel more confident knowing I have a helper by my side. I am not promoting every employee brings their dog to school, but maybe if someone like me was on the fence and worried about having a service animal in school, this could act as a sign to take the leap. I have always taken the road less traveled and that has made all the difference.
