Graduating Together

Bridget Evans, founder of the Illini Service Dog Program, received her Masters degree from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Saturday. She was accompanied at the graduation ceremony by her service dog Hero. Evans said,

Hero knows over forty commands to assist me! He loves to retrieve objects for my like envelopes, pens, my crutches, etc. He also turns off the lights, opens doors, and he pulls me in my wheelchair up ramps! I couldn't have gone to college without him!

Hero grabbed a lot of attention and photographs at the graduation. These were posted by two different redditors, in threads that tell more about Bridget and Hero. In both, it was mentioned that while Bridget got a Masters, Hero was awarded a "dog-torate."

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