In her office and strolling the halls, students and staff will find school psychologist Annmarie Choque accompanied by her hearing dog, Brandy.
Choque was born with a hearing loss, and at the age of three she got her first pair of hearing aids. Last January Choque, who works with many students each day, got Brandy when the dog was one and a half years old.
“The main reason I got Brandy is because I became a single parent and I did not feel confident going to sleep at night and that I would hear everything that I need to hear to keep my children safe,” Choque said.
Before Choque got Brandy, the dog was trained through the New England Assistance Dog Service (NEADS) in Princeton, MA. There, Brandy was taught how to alarm a hearing impaired person both when something was wrong or when someone was calling their name.
According to Principal Tom Mead, there have been a couple of other dogs that help disabled students at Algonquin in past years. However, in order for the dogs to be allowed at the school, a policy had to be established.
The “Policy On Animals in School” states that there must be approval from the principal and school nurse, any student or staff member that has allergies to animals will not be in contact with the animal, and the animal has to control itself and cannot be alone roaming around the building.
“I hope [Brandy’s appearance] doesn’t catch anyone terribly by surprise and frighten them; not everyone is a dog lover,” Mead said.
Many students have reacted positively to seeing Brandy.
“I think when people see her, there’s something about dogs and pets that makes people happy,” senior John Leach said. “It’s almost like therapy for people. I think it definitely brightens people’s day to see her walking in the hallways.”
“It’s cool that the school has Ms. Choque working here with the hearing dog,” sophomore Alex Martin said. “When I walk by, I smile.”
Choque acknowledged that when people are walking through the halls and see her and Brandy, they are going to be curious and want to say hi. But, she explained, that is not allowed.
“Students should be aware because she’s a service dog they aren’t supposed to interact with her; they’re supposed to pretend she’s not there,” Choque said. “She’s supposed to be invisible; she’s supposed to be like a wheelchair or anything like that, that you just ignore and recognize as a part of a person that’s not really important.”
Choque has lived her life as normally as possible and tries not to let her hearing loss limit her.
“[Hearing loss] has [limited me], but I’ve always been that person that ignores my limitations until it slaps me in the face: I pretend they’re not there,” Choque said. “For the most part, the things I really love to do, I’ve found a way to do them one way or another.”
Choque takes pride in being a strong mother and educator that has worked her way through life with little hearing, and Brandy has helped her tremendously.
“I hope that having Brandy out in the open will help students realize: whether you have a disability or some other challenge that you are working on, that you should do whatever works, and Brandy is what works for me,” Choque said.