About Gus the dog

Bow Memorial School is excited to share that we have a therapy and campus dog in training. Our new dog is named August Dean but we call him, among all sorts of things, “Gus” for short. He is a black Field Labrador Retriever and was donated by Maya Snyder from Foxbend Labs in Hillsboro, NH. Gus’s line of breeding has dogs working in law enforcement, fire investigation, and compassion roles throughout New England. 

Gus is being trained and handled by Kelly Ardita, Student Services Coordinator at Bow Memorial School. Although Kelly has experience in training other working dogs, this is her first experience with a Lab. They have built an impressive bond and she is excited to share Gus with the school community. Gus lives with Kelly and her family at their home in New Boston, NH. 

Gus spends time with students and faculty at BMS typically on Wednesdays and Fridays. During school he visits classrooms, spends time with small groups of students, and works to get used to the sounds and smells of school. He is particularly fond of the BMS cafeteria during lunch. On non-school days, Gus attends training and social groups with other dogs so that he can learn how to “dog” and be a well rounded, social working dog.

Outside of school, Gus works hard to train for his therapy dog certification, which he will be testing for when he is a year old (June 2023). He will be testing for certification through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and you can check out their website by clicking here.

He will also be testing for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen certification. You can read more about this certification by clicking here.