Meet Rooster and Oakley, safety dogs who sniff out vapes and threats at Mt. Morris schools

The Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools district has brought in two safety dogs, Rooster and Oakley, to frequent the halls of the district’s buildings for safety and emotional wellness. Dylan Goetz MLive

By Dylan Goetz

December 17, 2024

MT. MORRIS, MI – The Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools district has brought in two safety dogs, Rooster and Oakley, to frequent the halls of the district’s buildings for safety and emotional wellness.

The district partnered with Zebra K9, a Waterford-based safety dog company, after Superintendent Mickie Kujat began looking into the benefits of having canines in the school last spring.

The dogs can detect narcotics, vapes, firearms and explosives. During a news conference held at Mt. Morris Middle School on Dec. 17, the dogs identified multiple vapes and shell casings that were placed in lockers for demonstration.

Rooster is a 2-year-old male reddish lab and Oakley is a 1-year-old male black lab. Each work with handlers Matt Shook and Emily Dice, respectively.

Rooster specializes in firearms and explosives, while Oakley specializes in narcotics and vapes.

The two dogs are most often at the middle and high schools in Mt. Morris but make visits to each of the six schools in the district, Kujat said.

The Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools district has brought in two safety dogs, Rooster and Oakley, to frequent the halls of the district’s buildings for safety and emotional wellness. Dylan Goetz MLive

Supported by the school board, Kujat entered into a one-year contract with Zebra K9. The program is fully funded by grants offered from the state, Kujat said.

District leaders said the two pups have become local celebrities within the district. Rooster even walked with Shook in the homecoming parade.

The dogs also offer social and emotional wellness support for students, Kujat said.

When a student is stressed about an exam or having a bad day, school leaders call in Rooster or Oakley to cheer them up.

Dogs create a “welcoming environment” and “contagious excitement” at the school, Middle School Principal Courtney Gustafson said.

Zebra K9 partners with seven other Michigan school districts, President/CEO Greg Guidice said.

Guidice first started partnering with school districts in 2019 to provide an added layer of safety and protection. At first, the dogs wore a “do not pet” sign. Now, after seeing how students react to the dogs, signs shifted to “ask to pet.”

Mia Felts, an 11-year-old 6th grader, said she likes to have dogs around. It makes her feel better if she is sad. She prefers Oakley, the black lab, because he is “kind.”

Thanks to the dogs’ ability to detect items that humans cannot, the dogs serve as a proactive deterrent for items that aren’t allowed in the building.

“They’re so much more effective and efficient and faster than humans in detecting threats that are not supposed to be there,” Guidice said.

Handlers record daily logs of their activity to report back to superintendents to gauge effectiveness, Guidice said.

Dogs have already begun deterring vape use, which has been on the rise in middle schools and high schools in the area, Kujat said.

There are about 300 students at Mt. Morris Middle School and more than 400 at the high school, Kujat said. The district educates approximately 2,000 students each year from early education elementary to high school.