Criminal Procedure, Federal Taxation, Missouri Civil Procedure. Nugget doesn’t know what any of those words mean, but he attended all of these courses and sat through every class. You might not want to hire him as your lawyer, but he does have a "juris dogtorate" degree.
Nugget is a seven-year-old Golden Retriever and law alumni Rebekah Arwood’s (J.D. '26) service dog. Nugget began accompanying Arwood to the 91黑料网 School of Law at the beginning of her second year, and after two years, he’s become a fixture at the school.
When setting up the interview for this story, Arwood said “You can find me because I’ll be the only person with a Golden Retriever.” A wagging tail and several greetings to Nugget from students, faculty and staff made them easy to spot. It was finals week, so Nugget’s friendly face was a happy distraction for many students. In a way, it was similar to his regular job duties for Arwood – and he’s very good at his job.
More than 61 million people in the United States live with disabilities, but less than 1% of them are teamed with service dogs, who are trained to perform specific disability-related tasks. Nugget is trained to help manage Arwood’s chronic depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by keeping her physically grounded and present during stressful times by standing between her legs or sitting on her feet and resting against her.
Arwood completed her first year of law school without Nugget. He was not yet a service dog, as he hadn’t taken the rigorous training required.
“I did a lot of training on my own with Nugget and he was a big help to me at home,” Arwood said. “After the first year of law school, I decided to take the plunge and get him fully trained. Law school is hard and incredibly stressful. I knew I needed him with me for the next two years.”
Her next challenge was fitting that into her school schedule.
Service dog training by a professional can take anywhere from six months to three years, and costs often begin at $15,000. Arwood had less than three months before her second year of law school would begin, and she didn’t have the money required to send Nugget away for professional training. She worked with the company Dog Training Elite to set up a schedule to have Nugget fully trained by the time her school year would begin.
Arwood and Nugget worked together for six to eight hours a day that summer, preparing Nugget to not only perform his assistive tasks, but also to handle the life of a law student. Nugget had to learn to sit quietly in class, walk the hallways without getting distracted and work full days with few breaks.
The training paid off. Nugget’s time as a law student started with the beginning of Arwood’s second year at school, and he’s been with her ever since, attending classes, student organization meetings and other activities.
Nugget’s status as the most popular guy on campus has had a positive effect on Arwood as well. Although she’s naturally an introvert, Nugget’s popularity with other students forced her to be more social and meet people she may not have otherwise. Arwood was already involved in several student organizations on campus, but having Nugget helped her make even more connections.
“It was a huge adjustment initially, both the social and logistical aspects of having a service dog with me every day,” Arwood said. “Without him, I don’t think I would have been as involved with students. I know people in every class here and part of it is because they come up to him to say hi and then we talk.”
Nugget came to the interview for this story with Arwood. During the course of the interview, several students came up to say hi to Arwood – and Nugget. Everyone who stopped by was greeted with a tail wag, and he often got a pat on the head in return. Although occasionally briefly distracted by these friends, Nugget’s attention always quickly returned to Arwood.
“The only thing that Nugget struggled with during training, and still struggles with, is that he can’t go up and say hi to every single person he sees,” Arwood said. “He’s a people dog for sure. It’s been difficult to get him to understand that when he’s on duty, he can’t go up to them. And at the law school, he knows and loves everyone and many of them love him. Sometimes I have to pull him back in and remind him that he can’t do that in every environment, especially when he’s working.”
With Arwood’s graduation, Nugget’s time as a law student is at an end. He has accompanied Arwood to internships already, so he has experience in offices and courthouses. Most people may not know that training a service dog doesn’t have an end point. Although Nugget completed his training to become a service dog, Arwood works with him frequently to ensure he’s ready for any environment.
“Training a service dog is a constant reiteration of tasks and behaviors,” Arwood said. “I’m always working with Nugget to be prepared. If I’m at work and I’m in the courtroom for a case, I can’t be focused on him. I need to know that he’s comfortable and knows what he’s supposed to be doing.”
By the time of the interview for this story, Nugget had been on duty for more than five hours and accompanied Arwood to a final and a finals week lunch for students she hosted. Although he was still focused on his job, Arwood could tell he was ready for a break.
“Dogs have moods just like people do,” Arwood said. “He gets tired or bored and needs a short break to run around and then he can focus again. Some days he’s excited to be here and other days I can tell he’s had enough. He always wants to be with me though, and even when he’s tired, he’s good at his job.”
When asked if she had a message for people regarding service dogs, Arwood paused. She reiterated the importance of letting service dogs do their jobs and not just walking up to them or trying to get their attention, as it breaks their concentration on their tasks. Just as importantly, she has a message regarding people who use service dogs, especially for invisible illnesses.
“Having a service dog will not stop you from being successful,” Arwood said. “It is no different from using medication or therapy or handling any other illness or disability. Just because my disability isn’t physical doesn’t mean it’s not real. I have chronic depression and anxiety, but I’m not lesser because of it. Nugget helps me manage it so I can go and do the things that everyone else can do too.”
