Farmingdale HS service dog to be honored at Canine Companions gala

Daler, a service dog at Farmingdale High School, is set to be honored at Sit. Stay. Sparkle! Northeast, a gala benefiting Canine Companions at Leonard’s Palazzo in Great Neck on Thursday, June 25 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Daler was an 8-week-old puppy when Farmingdale School Superintendent Paul Defendini became a Canine Companions volunteer puppy raiser just three months after a catastrophic bus crash injured dozens of students and caused the death of the high school’s long-time band director and a popular school chaperone.

“It was hard to get kids to talk and to start opening up about what they were feeling,” Defendini says. “But that all changed thanks to the service dogs visiting from Canine Companions—within a week’s time after the accident, we had music back in the band room.”

Defendini brought Daler to school everyday, and the dog quickly became a fixture at local community events. The Farmingdale High School’s P.A.W.S. Club celebrated Daler’s birthday and helped raise nearly $6,000 for Canine Companions.

In November, Daler graduated and was matched with three-time successor Lauren Hemmerly, who by coincidence, also works for a local school district. Hemmerly says Daler helps lead her down the stairs, keeps her from being trampled in a crowd or leading her to her car through a parking lot in a snowstorm. “You wonder, how did I ever manage life without you?,” Hemmerly says about Daler.

In addition to hearing stories from clients who have found greater independence with the help of their service dogs, attendees can meet future service dogs in training, bid on items in live and silent auctions, and enjoy cocktails and a plated dinner.

Visit www.canine.org/sparklenortheast for more information and to reserve tickets.