A service dog has joined the Adelphi community, providing invaluable support for students in Adelphi’s Learning Resource Program, a specialized program for students with learning-based disabilities such as ADHD and dyslexia
A five-year-old Labrador retriever with a sleek black coat, wagging tail, and calm, friendly demeanor has become a familiar and beloved presence on Adelphi’s Garden City campus. But Echo is far more than a friendly face.
Echo is an all-access medical alert dog from Canine Companions, an organization that provides service dogs to people of all ages and abilities. Echo’s handler, Emily Tullo, clinical educator and adjunct professor in Adelphi’s Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, has been accompanied by her furry companion for almost four years. Through their partnership, the pair has made a meaningful impact, not only on individual students, but on the University as a whole.
An Adjunct Professor, and Her Dog, Provide Support
As part of the team in the Learning Resource Program, Tullo and Echo provide invaluable support to students with disabilities, helping to ensure that each student has the opportunity to thrive. For more than 45 years, the Learning Resource Program has worked hand-in-hand with students with language-based learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), providing individualized assistance throughout their college career. “The core objective of the Learning Resource Program is to create an educational opportunity whereby students with neurodiverse learning styles can access the kind of assistance they need to be the best version of themselves,” said Lauren Lavoie, MS ’02, director of the program.
With the addition of Echo in 2024, the program unlocked a new layer of support for students, one that brings a comfortable, approachable presence into the classroom, allowing students to express themselves in a judgment-free zone. Lavoie reflected on the impact Echo has had on the community since his arrival. “I always knew that dogs were good for people. I always understood the relationship between animals and people not in a scientific way, just in an experiential way. But I have seen firsthand, since Emily has gotten here, the effect that it has created.”
Dennis Cowan, senior clinical educator and adjunct professor, attests to the fact that Echo has brought positive light to Adelphi, particularly for students with challenges.
“Echo is just a breath of fresh air. Every time I see him, it makes me feel good, it makes the kids feel good. Echo brightens everyone’s day,” Cowan said.
A New Seminar on Human-Canine Relationships
College can be a stressful transition, especially for incoming first-year students adjusting to a new environment, academic challenges and social pressures. Echo may just be the cure for relieving that stress—as a furry faculty member.
Beginning in the Fall 2025 semester, Emily Tullo and Echo will co-lead a first-year seminar about the importance of human-canine relationships. Alongside Erin Truesdell, senior clinical educator, the group will guide first-year students through discussions on the roles that dogs have played throughout history, as well as their constantly emerging uses in medical and emotional support work.
The course, centered on the evolving relationship between people and canines, will offer students a unique hands-on learning experience. Echo’s presence will serve as proof of the many services canines provide and the unwavering support that comes with companionship.
“Dogs can provide to humans what other humans often can’t. When someone has a disability, they want to feel independent—to feel that independence is a sense of pride, a sense of accomplishment—and dogs can help with that,” said Tullo.
Bringing Compassion to Campus
Echo serves as a true role model for the Adelphi community, embodying the University’s values of equity, inclusion and compassion. His presence on campus has helped foster a culture of openness and relaxation.
“People sometimes have a hard time interacting. For whatever reason, we all have these walls up,” said Lavoie. “But Echo takes down those walls.” Whether it’s acting as an icebreaker in moments of high anxiety and tension or simply offering a quiet moment of comfort, Echo has a unique ability to bring people together in meaningful ways. Tullo is deeply committed to sharing her and Echo’s time and energy with the Adelphi community.
“I think it is really nice to know that I helped somebody else,” Tullo said. “It’s so important to stop and say, ‘I’m going to do something that is not about me, but it’s for someone else and I’m going to do this selflessly.’”
Through their acts of kindness and support, Tullo and Echo are a source of comfort, but they also remind us of the powerful impact one dedicated individual—and one furry friend—can have on a community.