“The kids were so excited to be such an important part of his special day.”
Cole has been a therapy dog at a local school for almost seven years now. The students absolutely adore him and everything he does for them — so each year on his birthday, they throw him a massive party to show him just how much they appreciate him.
“As a school, we have celebrated Cole’s birthday each year he has been a member of our faculty,” Chris Hannah, Cole’s dad, told The Dodo. “Even during the pandemic, we had virtual school celebrations.”
This year for Cole’s birthday, he got to ride around in a special birthday carriage and wear an adorable birthday outfit. A group of his student friends were chosen to push his wagon into the cafeteria, where the entire school was waiting to celebrate him — and give him the sweetest surprise.
Cole is deaf, so in order to celebrate him to the fullest, every single student learned “Happy Birthday” in sign language and signed it for Cole as they sang. It was truly the perfect way to celebrate, and Cole loved every minute of it.
“He was so ornery all day, extra playful, acting super silly, which was definitely because he knew it was his birthday celebration day,” Hannah said. “He’s usually extra chill while working, but who couldn’t love some silliness? He looked around [from] all angles to see the students signing to him with the utmost attention on their hands.”
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The students were so thrilled that Cole loved their performance. They’d do anything for him, and the feeling is very much mutual.
“The kids were so excited to be such an important part of his special day,” Hannah said. “They practiced signing the song for two weeks prior because they wanted it to be ‘perfect’ for their boy.”
Once the song was done, Cole was presented with his yearly birthday cheeseburger, and the kids went wild watching him eat it. He was wheeled out of his party in his birthday wagon half asleep, exhausted from all the partying and as happy as ever.
“Cole is an extremely important part of the lives of these students, and to see their love and admiration for their furry hero is nothing short of breathtaking,” Hannah said.
