The school has a new furry member of staff, and he’s here to stay. Elroy is theology teacher Peter McConnell’s new seeing eye dog. 

“He is a part of the faculty now, and I’m glad he’s around a bunch of people who, I think, really get a kick out of him,” McConnell said.

McConnell, who is progressively losing his sight due to an eye disease called choroideremia (CHM), uses Elroy as his eyes. In addition to being an amazing pet, Elroy helps McConnell perform many daily tasks.

 “He’s my vision basically below my nose,” McConnell said. “When I walk to work every day, it’s his job to help me get to curb to curb and down the street, and to keep me out of traffic, too. In fact, he’s already pulled me out of the way of three different cars.”

Elroy had to go through vigorous training before coming to his new home. He’s specially trained to run with McConnell as well as guide him through everyday life. 

“I have a special harness he can wear when he does running work with me, which is really unique,” McConnell said. “The school I went to is one of the only ones in the United States that specializes in this type of training. So I take him out to run. We ran with the cross country team this summer, and he loves it.”

The extensive process of getting Elroy took months. Seeing eye dogs need to be perfectly trained to their owner’s needs and lifestyle. McConnell lived in New York for three weeks training and learning about Elroy before taking him home. 

“They match you up with a dog based on your pace and personality. I trained with him everyday … we even had a graduation.” McConnell said. 

Elroy has been a welcome addition to the classroom, staying in his crate during class as to be non-disruptive.

 “The kids have been great with respecting his boundaries,” McConnell said. “He just does his own thing, and he’s been great too.”

McConnell is pleased with how things have worked out  and surprised by how much people know about service dogs. He encourages questions  since every dog has different boundaries.

“Communication is as important as anything else,” he said. “Everything really depends on the dog. There is also this illusion that you can’t pet the dog. It’s all about communicating, always ask. He’s a pet. He’s like a school mascot now.”