Dog Days for the Canine Commandos: Acclaimed schools pet program ending after 20 years

For the Canine Commandos, the dog days have finally arrived.

After nearly 20 years — and more close calls than founder and former Brevard Public Schools teacher Virginia Hamilton would care to think about — the popular school pet-training program is closing its doors for good, another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges.

Hamilton's program has bused in grade-school students from around the county to work with dogs and cats in local shelters since 2003, helping to socialize the animals and make them more adoptable.

More than 4,500 gifted Brevard County elementary school students have donned the Canine Commandos' signature golden T-shirts, Hamilton said. By her numbers, the kids have helped train — and potentially save — more than 2,500 abandoned pets.

Related: Pets are being given up and abandoned in Brevard as owners struggle to pay rent and bills

The efforts have garnered the program and its creator a host of national accolades and media attention over the years. Sadly, Hamilton said, this summer, it's all coming to an end.

"It just became so much for the teachers," Hamilton said Thursday. "But we had a good 20-year run, so I'm pretty pleased."

Looking back, it wasn't one thing that did the Commandos in, Hamilton said. Funding woes have dogged the program for years, even as expenses have gone up. Insurance premiums have doubled, she said, and shelters have asked for more paid professional trainers to oversee interactions between the animals and the children.

The COVID-19 pandemic only made things worse. Volunteers became more scarce. One shelter scaled back its visitation; another in the north end of the county dropped out completely, making it more difficult and expensive for north-area schools to participate.

The program never fully rebounded, Hamilton said: This year only 18 schools joined in, down from a peak of 30 before the pandemic.

Brevard: 'Canine Commandos' lives for another year after community rallies in support

Perhaps the biggest hit was Hamilton's decision this year to retire from teaching after more than 30 years. Like many on their way out, Hamilton said, it was partly a personal choice and partly driven by the lack of support for teachers in Florida.

"My husband retired over a year ago, and we want to do some traveling. And I felt like it was the perfect time, because I'm turning 65. But also I'm just disappointed in the way people in the state of Florida look at educators," she said.

Poor salary rates for veteran teachers, coupled with the increasing politicization of public education, have made it harder than ever to be a public school teacher, Hamilton said.

Still, she said, "with all the careers I could have chosen, I picked the right one. I have no regrets."

Hamilton, a lifelong animal lover, first began the program at Longleaf Elementary after seeing a dog trainer on "Animal Planet" explain that many shelter dogs go unadopted because they tend to bark and jump, turning off prospective owners.

On training days, the Commandos would read to the dogs, helping to calm and relax them, before leading them through exercises designed to make them more attractive to shelter clients.

To observers, the training sessions could resemble organized chaos: dozens of yellow-clad children shouting and laughing, handing out treats and belly rubs to excited pups, all while Hamilton and other volunteers zipped back and forth between groups, doing what they could to maintain order.

For kids like Ty Pope, who went through the program in 2018 and 2019, the experience would be a defining memory of their grade school years.

"It was really fun. Seeing a dog you helped train or even name get adopted was really cool," said Ty, now 15 and a student at Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School. "It gives you a nice feeling of joy to see that you helped a dog."

More: Going to the dogs — and cats: Pet Expo showcases latest in pet play, nutrition and care

In some ways, the end of the program couldn't have come at a worse time. Soaring inflation, cost of living and changing housing situations due to the pandemic have meant that more owners have been forced to choose between their pets and their homes, leading to a surge in surrenders at animal shelters across the county.

That means more pets than ever in need of attention, exercise and love. But even with the Commandos gone, it's not clear how much it might have helped, said Dawn Farula, supervisor at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office South Animal Care and Adoption Center.

Reasons for adoption are "so random," Farula said, even at the Melbourne shelter where the Commandos focused most of their time this past year.

"People don't really come in here just because they see the gold card and that (the dogs) were with the children," Farula said, referencing the paper placardsf fixed to the kennels of Commando trainees. "We don't really get a lot of feedback on that."

Still, she said, the sessions helped to calm the dogs and fight some of the "kennel craze" that can build up in shelter pets, which contributes to the wild energy that can make adoption more difficult.

"It was very lively here, and we're definitely going to miss them," Farula said.

In the end, the biggest beneficiaries of the Canine Commandos may be the children themselves.

The program helped both of April Michele's kids come out of their shells, particular her daughter, Michele said. Michele assisted with the program as a teacher at Longleaf before she left teaching and became executive director the Future Problem Solving Program International in Melbourne.

Both of Michele's children went through the program, she said. She credits the Canine Commandos with helping instill in her daughter, now an emergency medical technician and firefighter-in-training, a sense of purpose and dedication to the community.

More: Gifted kids work with shelter dogs in Brevard teacher's acclaimed program

"It helps (the children) be a leader. It helps them kind of find a purpose, as far as making a difference," Michele said. "It's their growth and their leadership in their hearts for Brevard County, for right here where we live."

The end of the Commandos was a "sad thing" for the community, she said. But there's a chance its spirit could carry on in other ways.

"There are other aspects to our county that this kind of program could be replicated to help in other things, whether it's a growing homeless population or serving animals at the shelters," she said. "That meaningful learning can in occur in our schools that benefits the community."

Hamilton said her focus now is on her own three pups: Mongo, an older mixed breed,  and Marlow and Moxie, a pair of sibling Pembroke Corgis. But she too hopes the spirit of the Commandos, with its focus on animal welfare, will live on in her former students.

"I guess the lasting legacy for me is, all these kids that were involved, what are they going do with this issue?" she said.

Michele said Hamilton's impact will "probably never be replicated."

"She is so passionate and so well-spoken. But she puts actions behind her passion," Michele said. "There's a lot of people in education that have a lot of passion and do amazing things. Virginia really leveled that up."

Eric Rogers is a watchdog reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Rogers at 321-242-3717 or esrogers@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricRogersFT.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard teacher's popular Canine Commandos program ends after 20 years