Plainfield Academy says farewell to retiring service dog Leroy

A very special member of Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 retired at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Leroy, a 9-year-old golden retriever who has served for the last seven years as a facility dog at Plainfield Academy, the district’s alternative school, now is enjoying a bit more time at home which includes some special quality time with the family cat.

His home happens to be with his handler, Plainfield Academy’s Principal Karyn Holstead.

During his time at Plainfield Academy, Leroy was a bit notorious for being “food-motivated” so students and staff had to watch their lunches and the trash cans when Leroy visited their classroom, Holstead said.

In his retirement, Leroy also is getting used to not getting treats from 80 different staff members, she said.

Plainfield Academy offers several different programs for students including a transition program for 18- to 22-year-olds, a therapeutic program for middle through high school students, a behavior program, and an in lieu of expulsion program.

Leroy arrived at Plainfield Academy after receiving training at the Indiana Canine Assistance Network or I Can, an Indianapolis-based accredited service dog training program.

“I actually went into an Indiana prison to learn how to work with Leroy. It was a pretty awesome experience,” said Holstead

Leroy is the second dog to serve as a facility dog at Plainfield Academy.

He also is one of several other facility dogs that Plainfield District 202 has in other buildings including Charger at Wallin Oaks Elementary School, Simi at Creekside Elementary School, Chloe at Plainfield North High School, and Mooch at Plainfield High School-Central Campus.

After the first dog, Jada, retired in 2014, Holstead said, “I volunteered to get the next facility dog for the school.”

“The dogs make a big difference,” she added.

Holstead said her own family discussed getting a dog of their own,however, due to their busy schedules they never did.

Since Leroy accompanied her to school each day, Leroy wasn’t at home alone all day.

During the school year, Holstead said Leroy had a “set-up” in her office which was “his office, too.”

“He would come in and help in any type of crisis situation,” she added.

Leroy also helped to de-escalate difficult situations.

For those kids who may be having a bad day, spending a few moments petting Leroy helped them relax, which then allowed them to return to their classroom, Holstead said.

Leroy also would make visits to classrooms and simply being there walking around or to calm students’ nerves during a test. “We have a lot that goes on here,” Holstead said, “We have a lot of different types of kids that Leroy works with.”

For some kids who may be reluctant or refuse to do their work, Holstead said Leroy also helped motivate students.

He frequently served as a listener to students reading out loud.

“He would lay right next to kids, and they would read to him,” she said, and sometimes “kids would even ask him comprehension questions.”

It is not just the students that Leroy provided comfort as sometimes staff members would come and say “I need a Leroy break.” The dog was always excited about and eager to reciprocate the attention any staff or student gave him, Holstead said.

During Leroy’s training, Holstead said she was told that the dog will let you know when they were ready to retire, which is exactly what happened in Leroy’s case.

“He was getting tired, and it was getting to be a lot for him,” she said.

Plainfield Academy will have a new facility dog, Nova, on hand when they open for the 2024-2025 school year.

“Nova is very young and energetic,” Holstead said.

She spent several weeks at the end of this school year learning the ropes.

“They were both in the building for a while and it was pretty fun,” Holstead said.