“I was really looking forward to seeing Chevelle today!” This is what I hear when Chevelle, my guide dog in training, doesn’t come to school with me. This is not the reaction that I first got when I recently brought him to school for the first time. Most people didn’t know what to say, but eventually they spoke up.

  It seems as though every day I have a new story about Chevelle at school. My first day of school with Chevelle was kind of chaotic. As I was walking down the hallway I could hear everyone’s remarks about him. People would stare and point as we walked past them. I could hear people say, “What’s a dog doing here?” and “She’s allowed to bring a dog to school?” Some people even asked if I was blind. Of course I was prepared for this because it is definitely unusual to see a dog at school.

  Now that most people have gotten used to seeing Chevelle around campus, it has gotten much easier to navigate around with him. As I walk through the hallways, people kind of clear a pathway not wanting to step on Chevelle. He has become used to all of the people wanting to pet him and he does remarkably well ignoring them and just focusing on his job. My teachers were just as excited to have a dog in the classroom as the students.

  All of my teachers were extremely supportive when I asked for their permission to bring Chevelle to school. A lot of them were actually very excited to be having him come. Mr. Hollars was also very supportive when I talked to him about bring Chevelle to school. It made it so much easier for me when everyone was on board and ready for Chevelle to come

  Every day, I can see Chevelle making people smile as we walk past. A boy always stops and talks to Chevelle and I after class. He will talk to Chevelle and then ask me a couple questions about him. When he goes to leave, he tells me goodbye and then turns to Chevelle. He tells Chevelle good luck and walks to his next class. These little things make my day better with Chevelle and give me encouragement that he is making a difference.

  At lunch everyone stops by to say hi to Chevelle. Of course he doesn’t mind the attention. All of my friends love him and always ask where he is when I don’t take him to school with me. Even my teachers look forward to seeing his face and wagging tail walk into class. He has made so much improvement and I’m sure that he will make even more as he comes to school more and more. The fact that he makes school better for others makes school that much better for me.