One Virginia high school is giving people a reason to smile after a student's service dog got its own headshot in the school's yearbook.
Every year, students spend the last weeks of school passing around yearbooks to sign. This year, students at Stafford High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, will get the opportunity to have paw prints in their yearbooks as well. High school student Andrew Schalk has Type-1 Diabetes. He relies on his service dog, Alpha, to alert him when his blood sugar levels are too high or low. Alpha will paw at Andrew if he senses a change in his blood sugar levels. When it came time for Andrew to take his yearbook photo, it was only fitting that Alpha have his picture taken as well. Yet while Andrew is seen smiling for the camera, his service dog Alpha looks genuinely confused about what is going on.
When Alpha first started coming to school, the other students were confused about why a dog was sitting in their classes. But as they got to know Alpha and understand Andrew's condition, he quickly became just another part of the Stafford community.
Naturally, the two have their pictures side-by-side in this year's yearbook, and the feel-good story is taking social media by storm.
One Twitter user did a bit of digging and found out that not only does Alpha have a yearbook photo, but he also has a student ID. If you thought his yearbook headshot was glorious, check out the outfit he wore for his ID picture.
Andrew is just a junior, so he and Alpha will be back in school next year. That means more adorable school pictures for all of us to enjoy.
