Melba Vélez Ortiz stands just 139.7cm tall. She is a university teacher. Born with a serious illness, Melba is almost blind. However, she refuses to let the condition rule her life.
The biggest help is from dog Chad. Chad is eight years old. He was provided to her by Guide Dogs for the Blind when he was only a year old. In the past seven years, Melba and Chad have moved hundreds of students at Melba’s university.
At first, Melba wasn’t sure about bringing Chad to class with her. She thought he would draw students’ attention. “I’m already fighting with video games and God knows what else. No, I’m not bringing a cute puppy into my class,” Melba said.
But in the end, she decided to give it a shot anyway. She set the dog up with a bed and some toys to keep him busy while she taught. To her surprise, just having Chad in the room improved the class. “People fear public speaking more than they fear death,” Melba explained. “So to have Chad come on in, even sitting in the corner, I could feel the stress of the students go down.”
Students said that Chad provides many benefits for them. During time of stress, they look forward to seeing him and getting a little puppy love in between classes. In fact, on a website, where students share experiences about teachers, Melba and Chad get all As! “Fantastic!” one student wrote as a review. “If every teacher was like Chad the world would be a better place.”
Melba’s students learn so much from having someone like her in the classroom, active and doing her thing. Especially students with disabilities: “Wow, she’s really out here doing the thing. Maybe I can too.”
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