Diploma to reward Zeeke’s dogged efforts

They say that every dog will have his day.
Zeeke's will be May 18.
On that day the big, charismatic golden retriever will walk with J.J. Coate in ceremonies at Ohio Northern University and receive a bachelor of science degree in canine companionship with, as the diploma specifies, "all the rights, honors, privileges and responsibilities thereunto appertaining."
Zeeke is believed to be the first four-legged graduate in ONU's 137-year history.
"As far as we know that is the case," said university President Kendall Baker, "and we are very proud that it is Zeeke Coate."
For the past year, Zeeke has lived with Coate, accompanied her to classes and been her nearly constant companion as she prepared him to be an assistance dog for a disabled person. In the process, he has become a campus celebrity.
These days they are regularly pointed out to prospective students taking the campus tour. Coate said people who don't remember her name always remember his.
"It's the same thing it's always been," she said Wednesday. "It's ‘Hey, Zeeke, how you doing?' And no one really addresses me."
He'll probably grab most of the limelight next weekend, too. For the record, Coate is also graduating, with a degree in biology. She has been accepted to veterinary school at Ohio State.
Zeeke seems to have taken college in stride. He has studied up on 30 basic commands and Coate said he was "a model pupil" in obedience school at Hollowell Dog Training in Elida.
"A lot of people offered to trade me dogs and have me train their dog for a week," she said.
He missed a couple weeks of Coate's classes this spring because of an outbreak of some sort of allergy, and at other times Coate had difficulty matching the energy generated by his "80 pounds of solid muscle." But he adapted effortlessly to changing routines and he aced socialization.
"He likes going to the president's house. When we go for social events, for scholarship receptions and such, he likes to be off his leash and just go from one group of people to the next," she said. "He just stands awhile, wags his tail, has them pet him, and then he goes on until he greets everyone in the room. He's very talented at working a room."
In August, Zeeke will return to Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that provides service dogs free of charge. He will undergo another six to nine months of training before he may be matched with a permanent partner.
Coate fortifies herself against the day of their parting by visiting Canine Companions' Web site, reading stories about assistance dogs' life-changing impact on their new owners. Still, it won't be easy giving up the companion she refers to as her best friend.
"I worry about him when someone else is taking care of him for the afternoon," she said. "For him to be completely out of my hands is really a scary thought for me. He is my baby to a certain extent."
More than anything, she sounds like a fretful mother sending a child off to school. After all, for all his impressive appearance, Zeeke is only 13 months old.
"One hesitation I have in giving him up for further training is that I don't know if he has the attention span to work that long," she said. "He really needs his playtime."
Most folks at Ohio Northern figure he'll do just fine.
The idea of including Zeeke with the Class of '08 originated with Monty Siekerman, ONU's former director of public relations. His dog, Annie, and Baker's Molly are among several golden retrievers who have been Zeeke's regular playmates.
Baker figures the Golden Girls, as they're called, are as proud of Zeeke as anybody. Unfortunately, he added, "I don't think we're going to be able to have all the local goldens in attendance for graduation."