By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


Caesar, a black lab and English retriever mix dog who walked the halls and cheered the hearts of students at Brighton High School for many years, has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

After a bout with cancer, the lovable canine - the very first therapy dog in the Brighton Area Schools - was quietly euthanized on Tuesday, with a small cadre composed of his human family and other supporters on hand. He was 13-and-1/2 years old - a very long life for his breed.

Brighton special education teacher and therapy dog program founder Karen Storey, who was instrumental in initiating the “Pack of Dogs” program, as it is now called, said the program to bring what Brighton calls social-emotional learning dogs to the district began with Caesar. In fact, he proved so popular with students that the program kept expanding to the point where the district now has a dozen such dogs -one for every school building - with the exception of the high school, which has three. As far as is known, Brighton was the first school district in the US - and may still be the only one - to actually own its therapy dogs.

Caesar was engaged as a social-emotional learning dog in Brighton for 10 years, starting his career in 2009 at Maltby (then a middle school) and being transferred to the high school in 2015 with his handler, Jody Renicker, who teaches there.


When he first started out at Maltby, Storey relates that a Hawkins School junior kindergarten teacher asked if they could bring Caesar to Hawkins to help the JK children who were struggling with anxiety. As a result, Caesar spent one day a week at Hawkins. She explains that during his lifetime Caesar was their G.O.A.T. (or, “Greatest of All Time”) because he would go anywhere. “He was always willing to help others,” Storey said. "He was always in tune with his surroundings and the people around him.”

In a letter to Storey, one parent said, "Caesar’s presence helped comfort Chloe, which allowed her to focus on school. He also aided in her independence to become more responsible.”

Dave Scrivano, the president and CEO of Little Caesar Enterprises, said, “Bringing Caesar to help kids in the community was one of the first contributions that Brighton Little Caesar’s made, and (the company is) grateful to Caesar for serving and helping so many great children and families in Brighton for so many years.”

Caesar lived with three families during his decade-long career, including Maltby teachers Cindy and Rich Adams, Maltby administrative assistant Cathy Mazur, and finally Jody Renicker and her family. Adams said that Caesar “was easygoing and loving with everyone, (and) was calm and comforting to kids in distress.”


Renicker, his handler for the last 10 years, said, “From his gentle nudge to the thud of his head in your lap, he filled a place in your heart that you didn’t know was empty. Brighton Area Schools is forever a better place because of him.”

Catching up to the present, the other dogs in the program have had a busy summer: Chevy and Ford are attending the BAS Kick Start summer camp and were the guests of honor at the 1st Annual Bark in the Park to benefit Bountiful Harvest and at the recent Buff City grand opening in downtown Brighton.

Storey says Brighton’s 12 dogs are anxious for the resumption of classes on Sept. 7th, saying they “can’t wait to get back to school to see all their friends.”

Caesar’s ashes will be taken to the Michigan War Dog Memorial near South Lyon, where a private ceremony will be held to honor his invaluable, and lasting, legacy.