Students surprise teacher who lost his beloved dog with a new puppy

Troy Rogers, Clementine, and Clements High School students.

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/1010 Wins)

published 7 December 2017

Troy Rogers was "completely taken by surprise" when his students gave him an adorable gift just in time for the holidays: An 8-week-old golden retriever puppy.

Rogers, who teaches history at Clements High School in Athens, Alabama, had shared with his students that his blind 11-year-old dog, Chip, had disappeared from his house. Knowing how much he loved Chip, the senior class raised $700 to buy Rogers and his wife a puppy. "Coach Rogers doesn't have children so his dog was like his child," student Haleigh Moss told ABC News. "He treats us like we're his own children and he does so much for us. We just wanted to do something great for him in return."

Last month, a colleague asked Rogers if he'd come look at something in her classroom, and he was stunned to open the door and see his students, wife, and the new puppy waiting for him inside. He asked the students if they would give the puppy her name, and they chose Clementine, in honor of the school mascot. Rogers, who plans on making a donation of $700 to the senior class fund, told ABC News he's proud of his students. "I think a lot of people don't give teenagers the credit they deserve for the good hearts and kindness they have," he said. "I'm never surprised by how good they are." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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