February 25, 2005

Pet of the Month

‘Gromit’

For a little puppy once picked up as a stray, the Evergreen Times’ February Pet of the Month “is still a legend in his own time” among the children of Goss Elementary School according to his owners, Evergreen residents Roger and Judy Caron.

“Gromit,” an 8-year-old Jack Russell Terrier mix, appeared as the hero in hundreds of stories written by children in the Alum Rock School District thanks to Judy, who recently retired as an RSP/special education teacher in that district.

Judy taught at three different schools in the district and Gromit was the unofficial mascot at all of them. “All the kids knew and loved him,” recalls Judy.

“We would write stories in which Gromit was the hero and the kids would finish them,” explains Judy. “Soon they were writing their own stories about Gromit. Many of the students learned English this way.”

To encourage students to write the stories and read them to her, Judy started creating little “Gromit cards” on the computer as a reward. Her students loved the cards and traded them like baseball cards.

Soon kids from other schools were trading the cards, which featured Gromit in 180 different roles—lifting weights, playing football, driving a bus or truck, skiing, riding on a train, a sports car or a swordfish. Gromit even landed in jail on one card. The list goes on.

The year before Judy retired, she was printing about 500 Gromit cards every week! Judy also bought card dividers and binders for her students as holiday gifts. Today, Gromit sends about 100 greeting cards through the mail for most of the holidays.

Judy fondly remembers one story where Gromit meets his cousin Gromito, a bullfighter from Spain. Returning from a vacation, one student said, “Oh Ms. Caron, I saw him [Gromito] when I went to Mexico.”

One of Gromit’s school girl friends credited Judy for her dog’s celebrity status. “After all, you made him famous.”

The Carons have earned a $20 gift certificate from the Evergreen Pet Center for their winning entry. Send in your pet entry today!