Goodbye for Now, Friends

Hi friends: Dusty here. Saint and I have had a great semester so far. We have loved seeing all
our friends. When everyone came back to UMPI this fall, Saint and I were over the moon.
Mummy had some worries that we might not have a semester together because of this COVID-
19 stuff. But Saint and I knew our friends would find their way back here.

We’ll be eagerly waiting for you to come back next semester!

Quarantine this summer was weird for us service dogs. We’re used to the hustle and bustle of
Mummy’s everyday life. It was nice to be home, but also not the normal we are used to. When
we heard that our friends would for sure be coming back for classes in the fall, we were so excited. I suppose we just didn’t realize how fast Thanksgiving would be here.
Mummy says that our friends won’t be back until the spring. Saint keeps telling me it’ll be OK, but I’m sad. I’ve had fun guessing who’s who behind the masks, which made me nervous at first. I miss not seeing my friends smile when they laugh. I’m going to miss their being here even more, though.

Saint told me that we’ll still be able to see all our friends over Zoom. I remember sitting in on
Mummy’s Zoom classes at the start of quarantine. It’s weird because we can hear all our friends,
but we can’t smell them. I suppose though that Saint is right, it will be OK.
We look forward to spring semester together and seeing everyone again. Until then, we hope
that you remember to keep washing your hands and practice social distancing. If you feel sick,
stay home. We’re going to get through these extraordinary times together.

An Ode to Our Graduates, Our Friends.

This is a picture of Mummy and me from a few years ago. Dusty looks forward to taking a picture with me in her cap and gown someday.

Hi, friends! Saint here. We know it’s been a while. We’ve been doing well adjusting to our new normal with Mummy. Our summer felt longer than usual. We didn’t go out as much. But it
was nice spending all that time at home working. One thing that we really missed, though, was getting to see our friends wear their caps and gowns on stage.

Years ago, when I was a mere pup, a nice lady at UMPI made me my own cap and gown. She told me that I could only wear it on a special occasion once a year, and that she had a special one
she’d wear, too. Since then, I’ve attended eight graduations. This year was different, though, and I couldn’t help but feel sad.

Since all our friends left in March, Dusty and I had been feeling down. We missed seeing everyone come in and out of classes and we missed their smells even more. By the start of May, I had a feeling that our friends wouldn’t be coming back. But I had to remain hopeful for Dusty’s sake. I sort of hyped up graduation to her and told her all about the snazzy cap and gown that Mummy would surely be getting her, too. She had so many questions, such as, “Where’s everyone go after they graduate?” I had fun explaining that once they graduate, their Snowy Owl wings can take them anywhere their hearts desire.

As sad as we are that our many friends’ wings got to take them far away before we got the
chance to truly said good-bye, we couldn’t be prouder of them. We saw them work relentlessly
over their years at UMPI and we know their hard work is going to pay off.

It may be a little late, but here’s to our graduates. We miss you, but we’re so incredibly proud.

Our Weekly University Times Meeting!

Every Tuesday, we are lucky enough to attend the University Times– UMPI’s newspaper– in its meetings. Yesterday was extra special, though, because we got to wear our snazzy club T-shirts! Mummy and her editor, Abi, helped us get dressed. The reason for the photoshoot was to get some updated pictures for the club’s tri-fold display board. They use this board to show people who aren’t in the club what they do. I think the real reason they had the photoshoot, though, was to make sure Dusty was included in photos, as the old pictures don’t include her.

Once we were dressed, I took up my usual spot on Mummy’s lap. This left Dusty unsure of where she could fit in, but our friends Alyssa and Tiffany were quick to help her find a spot. Getting posed for the pictures was easy for me, I just lay there. I didn’t want to make it look like I was trying too hard. Dusty had a little trouble: she’s still kind of too short. Tiffany had to help her stand up enough to see over Mummy.

We had a lot of fun, though. It was nice to see all our friends and take some nice photos. Abi said that she is going to print some off for Mummy’s classroom bulletin boards. We can’t wait to see what we’ll be doing at next week’s meeting!

A candid shot that Abi took of us all, family picture!
Us with Mummy and her students!