Today we had a very important visitor– Maile, a labradoodle who lives just a few blocks away from Edison! Maile’s “human”  is Polly’s very good friend  Fuzzi (Deborah) Basler. This afternoon while we were working on essays about our favorite penguins, five students at a time came to the rug to learn more about Maile and to pet her and see her trick.

Maile is learning to be a service dog who will visit people who need to be loved,  comforted or cheered.  She has a wonderful, calm personality.  Thank you, Fuzzi Basler, for bringing your especially wonderful dog to visit.  When not walking Maile or training her, Fuzzi sometimes volunteers in our classroom during math. She also works at Uncommon Scents, is one of the owners of the Meridian, and enjoys working at the Hult Center. Fuzzi’s husband, John Tamulonis, was recently named Springfield’s First Citizen for his work in economic development. Their children, now grown, went to Edison, Roosevelt and South. We look forward to Maile visiting again some day! Today was Maile’s second birthday!