The scene at a recent graduation ceremony at Idaho State University can bring tears to almost anyone’s eyes. In addition to the roughly 2,000 graduates that were in attendance, a service dog named Cletus was also there and his job was to walk across the stage to honor his master.
The scene at a recent graduation ceremony at Idaho State University can bring tears to almost anyone’s eyes. In addition to the roughly 2,000 graduates that were in attendance, a service dog named Cletus was also there and his job was to walk across the stage to honor his master.
Joshua Kelly was one of the graduating students, but sadly he passed away in February, just a mere months before the ceremony.
As a way to celebrate his hard work and keep his memory alive, his father named Terrell and Josh’s service dog, Cletus attended the ceremony to walk across the stage together and accept Josh’s posthumous degree.
They did just that and the loud cheers from the crowd served as the perfect background noise. Terrell stated “We’re very, very excited. Josh worked for years trying to earn this degree and he was in his last semester. Cletus went to all those classes, too, so he probably deserves half that degree.”
Josh, who had epilepsy, passed away at the age of 38. The black pit bull accompanied him on the 2 mile walk to the bus each weekday and to class.
Cletus was a proven hero for Josh, having been with him numerous times when he suffered grand mal seizures both at home and in public. Each time, Cletus would stand over his body and bark to garner attention.
Terrell tearfully said he knew Josh was walking right alongside them on the stage.
