Who We Live With

Our Host Families

Caesar & Jack - Brighton High School

Caesar, our senior member of the Brighton Area Schools Pack of Dogs joined the Renicker family in 2011. Caesar spent many years with his Maltby family working to pave the way for the newest members of the BAS Pack of Dogs. While working at Maltby, Caesar especially enjoyed listening to students read, spending time at 5th grade camp and welcoming staff and students to school each morning. Caesar retired in June 2019, after finishing his years out at Brighton High School. Jack is our new addition to the family and the High School. We are so excited to see him working with our students, and following Caesar's legacy! Jack will also be supporting Brighton Unified Teams. Caesar and Jack live with the Renicker family, Mrs. Renicker (Jody) a teacher at BHS, Mr. Renicker (Mark) a Senior Manager of Manufacturing at Chrysler, Jackson (BHS class of 2016), Max and Quinn (BHS class of 2019). Outside of school, Caesar enjoys attending MSU wrestling duals, taking rides in the car and visiting Higgins Lake with his family.

Keeper - Brighton High School

Keeper is one of the new pups to join the Brighton High School community. She will be living with the Sprys-Tellner Family. Jennifer is a principal at BHS and is excited to have Keeper working with all the students! Greg works as radiant flooring technical specialist. Thomas is a senior at Hope College, Zach attends Schoolcraft College, and Olivia is a high school junior. Keeper will also be able to play with her new furry pal, Maggie! Keeper will enjoy long walks, cheering for the Dogs at athletic events, getting out and about in the Brighton community, and supporting her new friends at BHS.

Alley - Brighton High School

The Wendrick's are excited to host Alley. Jonathan teaches science at Brighton High School, Erin is a stay at home mom and Matthew (4th grade) and Emma (2nd grade) attend Hornung Elementary. Matthew and Emma are both very involved in sports and extracurricular activities while Jonathan and Erin help coach their sports and lead Young Life at the high school. You will find us at lots of high school events and activities cheering on and encouraging the high school students. Emma is an enthusiastic advocate for Brighton's therapy dogs, and we are excited to be a part of supporting the students in our community.

Ford - Scranton Middle School

Scranton’s social/emotional therapy dog, Ford, will be living with Scranton Teacher Meg Foley, her husband Todd and their Border Collie Riley, in Howell Township beginning in January. Ford will be joining Ms. Foley at Scranton daily where she teaches seventh and eighth grade math. Todd works for Vantage Builders in Brighton. Even at 14, their dog Riley still loves to chase her Frisbee. Boy, will she be surprised when she realizes this young, big, black lab wants that Frisbee too! The Foley-Knuths are looking forward to Ford joining the family and sharing him with both the Scranton Family and the BAS community!

Duncan - Maltby Intermediate School

Duncan joined the Maltby family and has been living with the Krayer family since January 2017. While working at Maltby, Duncan enjoys listening to students read, is a friend that can lend an ear to anyone who needs it, and is there to love and be loved. One of Duncan’s favorite parts of the day is greeting students at the beginning of each day. He attends school each day with Mrs. Krayer (Michele), who teaches 5th grade. When Duncan isn’t working he stays with the Krayer family: Michele, Bailey, a 7 year old black lab, Jack,a student at Brighton High School, Trevor a recent graduate from the University of Michigan, and Mr. Krayer (John) an IT manager. Duncan also supports Special Olympics athletes for both Area 27 and Brighton High School’s Project Unify teams. He attends many Brighton Schools activities such as football and basketball games, movie nights, and activity afternoon at Maltby. Duncan loves walking in the woods, catching frisbees and balls, and swimming.

Scout - Hawkins Elementary School

The Mykols Family are so excited to host Scout, Hawkins Elementary therapy dog. Jennifer is the secretary at Hawkins. David is a financial investment advisor in Brighton while Spencer is a sophomore at Michigan State University and Claire is a junior at Brighton High School. When Scout is not working at Hawkins he will be enjoying life on Crooked Lake where he loves swimming and having playdates with other therapy dog buddies.

Oliver - Hilton Elementary School

Oliver, Hilton’s therapy dog, will be living with the Lewicki family. Kim Lewicki is an enrichment teacher at Hilton Elementary while Ryan (1st) and Ethan (JK) are Hilton Hound Dog students. Their younger sister, Emme (2) will also be joining the Hilton family in a couple of years. Oliver will be busy over the summer enjoying the outdoors, gardening and visiting the cottage! He will also be sharing his new home with another yellow lab named Chauncey.

Shadow - Hornung Elementary School

Hornung's social/emotional therapy dog, Shadow, will be living with the Richards Family. Tracie Richards is the Teacher Librarian / Media Specialist at Hornung. She works with all students JK-4th grade teaching Library and STEAM curriculum. Mr. Richards owns his own building company. The Richards family is very busy in the Brighton community, with all 3 children in sports, as well as Mr. & Mrs. Richards volunteering their time to coach youth sports. There is a good chance that you will see Shadow out in the community quite often after school hours. Mrs. Richards is very excited to have Shadow on their staff beginning in January 2019 to help all children with their reading confidence, and to be more successful at school!

Buckley - Spencer Elementary School

The Renner family is excited to host Buckley, Spencer Elementary's therapy dog. Bill is the Principal of Spencer. As some of the students have already realized, visiting the office isn't such a scary thing, especially when Mr. Renner and Buckley are there! Mrs. Renner works in business development and is currently on the Board for the Brighton Wrestling Club. Their oldest son, Andrew is a sophomore at Brighton High School and a member of the football and baseball teams. Their youngest son, Jack can be found navigating seventh grade at Scranton Middle School. After school, you'll find him on the football field, wrestling mat or baseball diamond.
The Renner's are thrilled to share this experience and provide support to all of the families at Spencer Elementary and the entire Brighton community.

Henry - Tot Spot / Senior Center

Henry lives with the Monroe family. We were so excited to welcome Henry into our family back in June 2019. My name is Tammy Monroe, I am the Assistant Supervisor at Tot Spot Preschool/Childcare, where Henry will spend his days working with the children and the Seniors at the Senior Center. I have a son, Ryan who currently is in 5th grade at Maltby and plays hockey at Kensington Valley Icehouse, so if you are ever there you just might see Henry hanging out. Henry loves to be outside laying in the sun, playing ball and taking walks.

Martha - The Bridge

Martha will be living with the Shanks family, and her most excited new family member is her new sister, Ellie. Paul and his wife, Jessica are thrilled to add Martha to their growing family, and to bring her around to local events in the community. Paul teaches social studies and oversees restorative practices at the Bridge Alternative High School. Martha has already become the students' favorite staff member and will be working hard to help students feel more welcome and safe throughout the day.

Chevy - Brighton Area Schools

Chevy is the newest addition to our BAS Pack of Dogs. Chevy comes to us as a brother to Jack who is at the high school. Chevy lives with our program founder Karen Storey and her family. Karen is a teacher at Maltby Intermediate School, she runs the MTSS program there. Karen graduated from BHS and lives in Brighton with her family. Her husband Scott is a behavioral coach who also works for Brighton Schools. They have 4 sons, Easton and Jack are attending BHS, Anthony attends Hornung Elementary, and Leo is loving his time at Tot Spot Preschool program. The Storey family is involved in the community with sports, fundraising and working on community events.