One attendee of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduation ceremony garnered a lot of attention with his cap and gown. Hero is a service dog and a picture of him and his owner receiving her Master’s degree went viral over the weekend.
On Sunday a picture snapped by someone in the audience of the graduation was posted to the online site Reddit. The photo was taken at Saturday’s convocation ceremony of the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Hero was decked in a matching cap and gown and went up to receive the diploma with his owner.
“He loved it! He loved all the attention too! When we were walking outside to reunite with my family, we were stopped every 10 feet for pictures by random people that loved his cap and gown!” wrote Hero’s owner. “He was like a celebrity! I think he realized it was a special day!”
According to Hero’s owner, who posted as f3b14 on Reddit, he knows over forty commands and she would not have been able to go to college without him. She added her own picture of her and Hero after the ceremony decked out in their caps and gowns.