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Service Dog Layla the service dog helps Ferris State student Lily DeGroot overcome challenges – right through to commencement

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Lily DeGroot graduates from Ferris State with help from Layla the service dog

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. —
There’s only one place you’d find Layla the service dog on Lily DeGroot’s special day: right by her owner’s side.

And that’s just where Layla walked — tail wagging the whole way — as DeGroot crossed the stage to accept her diploma at Ferris State University’s commencement ceremony last month.

“I felt Layla really deserved to walk across the stage, too, because I definitely wouldn’t have made it through college without her,” said DeGroot, an Allendale native.

DeGroot has struggled with anxiety for years. In high school, her anxiety accelerated into full-fledged panic attacks at least once each day. While she dreamed of attending college at Ferris State and a career as a Department of Natural Resources conservation officer, she feared her debilitating anxiety would stand in her way.

And then Layla changed her life.

Service dog graduates with student

A few months before DeGroot moved to Big Rapids, her parents purchased the goldendoodle puppy to provide comfort and emotional support for their daughter at Ferris State.

“I’d always struggled with friendships, which played a role in my anxiety as well,” DeGroot said. “My parents and I were concerned that when I got to college I would just kind of shut down with the anxiety and hide in my own space. But if I had a dog, I’d have to take her out and maybe even meet people doing that.”

That’s just what happened.

“Everyone that I met at Ferris instantly fell in love with Layla,” DeGroot said.

As an official emotional support animal, Layla was allowed to live in the dormitory with DeGroot, providing companionship and helping ease the young woman’s anxiety as she adjusted to college life.

Realizing she needed more help to cope with her college courses, DeGroot began training Layla her freshman year to become a service dog. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” Unlike an emotional support animal, a service dog is generally allowed anywhere the public is allowed.

Lily Degroot and her service dog at commencement
Lily Degroot and her service dog at commencement

After months of on-campus training and with the support of Ferris State’s Disability and Accessibility Resource Center, Layla became a certified service dog. She learned to sense changes in DeGroot’s state of mind and perform “deep pressure therapy” by laying her body on her owner to offer comfort. Layla also knows when to lick DeGroot’s hands or face to calm her down.

It's made all the difference.

“Before Layla was certified as a service dog and I had to go to class without her, there were many instances when I would start to panic and get so freaked out I just needed to go back to my dorm room and calm myself down,” DeGroot said.

“Now Layla’s made it where if I started to feel anxious and feel a panic attack coming on, I removed myself from class, went to the bathroom, Layla performed all her tasks and, eventually, she calmed me down enough to where I felt I could return to class. I couldn’t have completed my degree without Layla at my side.”

DeGroot did earn her degree — and quickly. Thanks to dual-enrollment at Muskegon Community College in high school, carrying extra credits many semesters at Ferris State, and taking courses year-round, DeGroot earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice in just two-and-a-half years.

Not to mention she graduated summa cum laude, an honor awarded to students who achieve the highest level of academic excellence.

Lily Degroot and her service dog at commencement
Lily Degroot and her service dog at commencement

While she waits to enter DNR conservation officer training, she’s looking for a job in law enforcement. She’s come so far in dealing with her anxiety that she’s confident she can work without Layla at her side.

“Through the experiences I had at Ferris State, I’ve overcome many obstacles including the worst of my anxiety struggles,” she said.

Written by By Beth McKenna for Ferris State University.

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