University surprises graduate by giving her service dog an honorary degree

When Maggie Leptrone graduated from the University of West Georgia earlier this month with her degree in nursing, so did her labradoodle, Mona.

Leptrone has Type 1 diabetes, and says Mona, who was trained by the Diabetic Alert Dogs of America to detect low blood sugar levels, saved her life one night when her blood sugar dropped to a dangerously low level. Mona goes everywhere with Leptrone, and attended all of her classes and labs and other on-campus activities.

At commencement, organizers gave Leptrone a small cap for Mona to wear during the event, but Leptrone told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she had no idea the university was going to recognize Mona until they awarded her an honorary dog-ree: her very own Bark-chelor of Science in Nursing.

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Leptrone, who has accepted a job as an intensive care unit nurse in Douglasville, Georgia, told the Journal-Constitution she thought it was wonderful that her school included Mona during the graduation festivities. "I'm just hoping that it shows other people like me who have a service dog that they can still obtain a high level of education and do what they've always dreamed of doing with their lives," she said.