From the Shelter to the Classroom

Katie Eppard had been looking for the ideal rescue dog to train ever since the Rockingham County School Board voted to allow teachers to bring therapy dogs to their classrooms. When she saw a picture of Maggie, she was immediately drawn to her.

“I fell in love with her speckled tongue and furry paws and knew that her breed – German Shepherd and Golden Retriever – would provide many great qualities for providing therapy work so I immediately put in an application for her and started picking out names.”

Maggie met them with so much excitement and showed that she had lots of love to give. Katie and her husband adopted Maggie and hit the ground running with her training. She worked her way from the beginners’ class all the way to therapy dog bootcamp in a matter of months.

Maggie started working as a therapy dog in her mom’s classroom in February of this year. Her training and hard work paid off and she now provides excellent comfort and care during a time of need.

“Maggie has such a strong, fun personality and is one big goofball who keeps us laughing, but she can also be so sweet and gentle. One of my favorite things about Maggie is her ability to tell when it is play time and when it is time to be a calm therapy dog,” said Katie. “Her personality at school and at home is so different, my students don’t believe that she knows how to bark but they have clearly never seen her when a squirrel is in her yard.”

Maggie’s journey is an inspiration to all rescue dogs!