The students at Falmouth, Virginia, Stafford High School received their yearbook.
Like any student, everyone was so excited to browse through the yearbook.
Diana Bloom, a senior at Stafford High School, was busy browsing through her yearbook when she saw something that made her smile!
https://twitter.com/dianalbloom/status/865192793261649920
She saw Andrew Schalk’s service dog, Alpha Schalk, in the roster of students!
Because of her excitement and happiness, she tweeted about the adorable “student” in her yearbook.
Andrew and Alpha
Andrew “AJ” Schalk, one of Virginia, Stafford High School juniors, has T1D or commonly known as Type 1 Diabetes.
Living with T1D is not easy at all. According to studies:
“Unlike type 2 diabetes in which the body has too little insulin, or can’t use it effectively, people with type 1 have little to no insulin at all. In fact, it’s classified as an autoimmune disease because the body’s immune system actually attacks insulin-producing cells.”
People who suffer from T1D need constant monitoring and care.
It’s not easy to live with this condition but it’s manageable.
That’s the reason why AJ Schalk is often accompanied by his loving and trustworthy service dog, Alpha.
Alpha is very good at his job which includes detecting if AJ’s blood sugar is getting too high or too low.
According to AJ, Alpha can detect changes in his blood sugar 20 minutes before he does.
AJ had to raise $25,000 to get his pup trained.
“He can predict 20 to 40 minutes before my blood sugar goes low or high, and that saves me from huge blood sugar spikes and drops and also benefits my health overall,” said AJ to ABC News.
How amazing is that? Alpha is not only AJ’s best friend; he’s also his trusted companion.
The school’s Alpha Dog
Since Alpha is a regular at AJ’s school, he has befriended almost everyone at the school.
This smart and friendly service dog loves being with people and having lots of friends – making him one happy pup!
Did you know that the school gave Alpha his own school ID?
One day, AJ thought of a clever idea of asking if Alpha can join the school’s yearbook. So he approached his teachers and told them about his plan.
His teachers were very happy and enthusiastic about AJ’s idea!
Virginia Stafford Principal, Joseph Lewis, said that including AJ Schalk’s service dog, Alpha was a fun thing to do.
“Beyond this, Alpha is just a part of everyday school life here at Stafford High School, as much as any student is,” said Lewis in his interview with ABC News.
Including Alpha in their yearbook was an awesome idea!
One year later, Diana Bloom posted an update on her viral Tweet.
In the yearbook, we can see senior student AJ Schalk and his beloved service dog, Alpha Schalk.
What’s different is that they photo-shopped Alpha’s face to look like he’s wearing a suit!
How cute is that?
Watch AJ and Alpha Schalk’s story here below!
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