Known for their loyalty, pet dogs are considered one of the best friends for human beings. A service dog named Justin has proved just that and got awarded for his unflinching commitment towards his owner. Justin accompanied his owner Grace Mariani to all her classes and got awarded with a diploma at the commencement ceremony for New Jersey’s Seton Hall University recently.
A video of 6-year-old service dog Justin while receiving the diploma alongside Grace at the graduation ceremony, has gone viral on social media. Students can be seen cheering and giving a standing ovation to Justin in the viral video while his wheelchair-bound owner smiles during the lovely moment. Seton Hall president Joseph E. Nyre is seen raising both his hands after handing over the diploma to Justin who sniffs and then holds it in his mouth.
“Seton Hall President Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D. presents Justin, the service dog for Grace Mariani, of Mahwah, NJ, with a diploma for attending all of Grace’s classes at Seton Hall,” posted official Twitter account of Seton Hall.
The dog was provided to Grace by a non-profit organisation named Canine Companions. The organisation took to Twitter and wrote “Our client, Grace and her Canine Companions #servicedog Justin graduated from @SetonHall, and now, the entire country is cheering them on! Congratulations, Grace and Justin!”.
Jeanine Konopelski, Canine Companions’s vice president of marketing and advocacy, informed to CNN that Justin was the second service dog provided to Grace by the organisation.
“When Grace was matched with Canine Companions service dog Justin, she said her dream was to go away to college and become a teacher,” Konopelski said in an email to CNN.
“She shared that with Justin by her side, she has the best chance for a successful, independent life,” said Konopelski.
