A 2-year-old dog named Keanu is headed to Farmingdale High School as the Long Island district's newest facility dog, trained in more than 40 tasks over 18 months with a volunteer puppy raiser before crossing the stage at a graduation ceremony in Medford. He joins a small, elite class of working dogs stepping into one of the more emotionally significant roles a school community can offer a canine: helping students and staff navigate grief, stress, and everyday school life.
Keanu was one of 12 dogs honored alongside their handlers at the Medford graduation, according to ABC7 New York. Rudy Breedy, a representative of Canine Companions' Northeast region, described the path each animal takes before earning its new role, noting that the dogs spend 18 months with a volunteer puppy raiser before training and crossing what he called the finish line to become either a service or facility dog. Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini personally spent two weeks at Canine Companions working directly with Keanu before his arrival.
Farmingdale is no stranger to what a facility dog can mean for a school in crisis. The district previously welcomed Daler, a Labrador who arrived not long after a bus crash that killed two staff members and injured a dozen students, per the same ABC7 account. According to Canine Companions, the September 21, 2023, crash killed band director Gina Pellettiere and chaperone Beatrice Ferrari and injured dozens of students.
How Daler Helped A Grieving Community Heal
In the aftermath of the crash, Defendini brought the puppy into the school community specifically to help students and staff cope with their grief, and the response was immediate. Support dogs were stationed in the high school commons, the library, and in what had been Pellettiere's former band room, according to Canine Companions. Defendini later reflected that Daler's impact on the community was profound, even though she wasn't yet fully trained for her eventual service role.
Defendini's own involvement with Canine Companions began when the organization suggested he become a volunteer puppy raiser, and he agreed to foster Daler himself. Canine Companions reports that he fostered her until May 2024, bringing her to school with him every single day; she then went to Medford for six months of training before being matched with a permanent owner. Daler ultimately graduated from the Medford facility, where Defendini was reunited with her one last time before she was delivered to her new owner, Lauren Hemmerly.
A Second Chance At A Lasting Program
After Daler found her permanent home, Defendini didn't step away from the program. He committed to helping train another dog that would eventually serve in Farmingdale, telling ABC7 that the positive impact he had witnessed on children made the decision an easy one. Facility dogs, he said, can leave a lasting impact on a community.
That commitment has now produced Keanu, whose arrival makes Farmingdale the rare district welcoming a facility dog for a second time. Those who worked with him during training described a dog built for connection: Todd Early said Keanu's superpower is simply that he's really engaging, while Anne McNeil said it's impossible to have a bad day around him. For a district that has already seen what one dog can mean during its hardest moments, Defendini has said the goal now is to have service puppies in Farmingdale schools on a permanent basis.
