Daler, a Lab puppy who eased grief of Farmingdale school community after bus crash, becomes service dog
Daler was an 8-week-old yellow Labrador retriever puppy when she was adopted by Farmingdale School Superintendent Paul Defendini, three months after an unspeakable tragedy in the district.
As she grew up, she joined other service dogs from Medford-based Canine Companions that came to Farmingdale High School to help bring back music to the band room where students and their instruments had been silenced by grief.
They brought comfort to those traumatized by a Sept. 21, 2023, upstate bus crash that injured dozens of students and killed band director Gina Pellettiere and chaperone Beatrice Ferrari.
“Daler didn’t just walk the halls, she truly changed us,” Defendini said. “It showed us service dogs are more than just helpers; they are life changers.
“Sometimes it was hard to get kids to talk and to really start to open up about what they were feeling and what they were thinking,” Defendini said. “And all of a sudden a child that might not have talked much about what they were thinking and feeling was now opening up and sharing more freely, which helped to get those kids from that place. That first Friday after the accident where they were certainly not playing, within a week’s time, we had music back in the band room.”
Defendini agreed in December 2023 to foster the puppy named for the Farmingdale mascot, agreeing to surrender her in May 2024 for six months of training in Medford as a service dog to assist people with disabilities.
Beloved around town
Daler became a fixture in the community during her time with Defendini, coming to school visits with him every day and at community events. The Farmingdale High School’s P.A.W.S. Club celebrated Daler’s birthday and helped raise nearly $6,000 for Canine Companions.
Friday, Daler graduated from the Medford Canine Companions facility, where she was reunited with Defendini and delivered to her new owner, Lauren Hemmerly, 39, of Medford. Now 2 years old, the Lab who became a symbol of healing and resilience for the school district will start her service dog career helping Hemmerly.
Hemmerly, who is about 3 feet tall and has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, will adopt Daler as her third service dog since she was 18.
The Lab was trained to perform tasks such as picking up items off the floor, retrieving items off counters and turning off light switches. She was matched with Hemmerly two weeks ago by Canine Companions officials.
Hemmerly said Daler will help lead her down the stairs, keep her from being trampled in a crowd or lead her to her car through a parking lot in a snowstorm.
“You’ll wonder, how did I ever manage life without you,” Hemmerly said of service dogs. “The key to independence is unlocked with chocolaty brown eyes, a wet nose and a big heart.”
Hemmerly, who works for the Patchogue-Medford school district, said she was aware of the Farmingdale bus crash but didn’t know she was paired with Daler until the second day of her two-week training course.
They became fast friends
She said she and the dog formed an instant connection when she rolled over for belly rubs. Hemmerly met Defendini for the first time Friday in Medford for graduation.
“You become a team. You become a buddy. You are one entity. From that point, moving forward, it’s kind of like, that’s your right arm,” Hemmerly said. “I’ve been going through this so long .<EN>.<EN>. I couldn’t imagine moving forward without a service dog."
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
