As expected, the Brighton Area Schools Pack of Dogs made themselves available to Michigan State University students and staff Monday to assist as they returned to classes following last week’s mass shooting event.
The therapy dogs were at the MSU Main Library on Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “to help our Spartan Nation heal,” according to Karen Storey, who leads the program.
Former BAS assistant superintendent for business and finance Maria Gistinger has been one of the program’s strongest supporters and posted on the group’s page pictures from the event showing the dogs sitting and laying with students and others as they pet them in a relaxed atmosphere.
“It’s a pet-fest today at the MSU library,” posted Gistinger. “So many grateful and relieved students. Our dogs were visited by some BAS alum.💚🤍🧡🖤”
A lone gunman opened fire on the evening of Feb. 13 at an academic building and the student union, killing three students and critically injuring five others, including a 2020 Hartland High School graduate.
On Monday, officials at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing said one of the wounded students was in fair condition, two were in serious but stable condition and two remained in critical condition.
The names of the wounded have not been officially released, although family members have identified two; John Hao, an international student who is paralyzed from the chest down, and Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, a business student who is expected to be hospitalized for several months.
The identity of the Hartland alumnus has not been disclosed.
