BRIARWOOD — Students at Archbishop Molloy High School who were taking a geometry test on Oct. 3 were greeted by a visitor. Looking up from their iPads, the students caught a glimpse of Giovanni, a cute 12-week-old puppy, sitting in front of the room.
But the students didn’t even bat an eye.
As it happens, Giovanni is a familiar presence at Archbishop Molloy.
Giovanni, a golden retriever-labrador mix, comes to school every day with Austin Power, who has been a math teacher there since 1990.
Power is a volunteer with Canine Companions, a nationwide organization founded in 1975 that trains dogs to be service animals and then places them with individuals in need, such as injured military veterans, elderly nursing home residents, and people with disabilities. Giovanni lives with Power and his family in Bellerose while he begins his service dog training.
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With permission from the school administration, Power brings Giovanni to work each day, which he said allows him to get in some good training time in between classes.
“When he comes here, he gets to train three or four times a day (during) my prep periods, my lunch period. He trains during track practice. So, he gets a day full of learning,” said Power, who also coaches the girls’ track team.
Power keeps Giovanni in a kennel in the track team office while he teaches classes.
He usually doesn’t bring the puppy into the classroom, but made an exception on Oct. 3 because the students had a quiz and he didn’t think Giovanni would be a distraction.
As Power walks through the halls with Giovanni on a leash, the students and teachers they encounter often stop to smile at the puppy. Some even bend down to pet the dog whose wagging tail is a tell-tale sign of how much he enjoys the attention.
Students seem to enjoy having Giovanni around.
Kaya Bednarczuk, a sophomore, said the puppy brings a “good vibe” to the school and has a calming influence on everyone. She also applauded Power for training a service dog. “I think it’s a really nice gesture that Mr. Power is doing this, especially since it’s going to help someone a lot,” she said.
Another sophomore, Timothy Hider, is also a fan of Giovanni. “The dog’s very cute and brings a lot of energy to the class,” he said.
Since Giovanni is so young, his training at this point primarily consists of basic commands, such as Sit, Stay, Down, and Come. Power has an ever-ready supply of kibbles on hand to reward him when he is good.
The puppy, who came to live with the Power family shortly after he was born, will likely live with them for another 18 months, learn to obey approximately 40 more commands, and then enter an intensive training program at the Canine Companions center in Medford, a hamlet on Long Island.
Service dogs perform a wide variety of tasks for their owners, depending on the type of disability. They perform tasks such as opening doors, retrieving dropped items, and providing stability for individuals with mobility issues. They are also trained to detect the onset of medical problems, including seizures and high or low blood sugar spikes. Many dogs can also remind their owners to take their medication.
According to the website TotalVet, there are approximately 500,000 active service dogs in the U.S.
Powers has been involved with Canine Companions for 11 years, training six puppies, including Giovanni, in that time. While he is training Giovanni to learn new things, Power said he also believes the puppy is teaching students valuable lessons.
“They realize that he’s not a pet, that he’s training to be a service dog. And our students get a great sense of giving back to the community,” he said.
