by Maci Killman
A familiar furry face walks the paved paths at Concordia University Chicago (CUC). Almost 10 years old this May, Fiona has seen Concordia change with new buildings, faculty, and students with each passing year. The one thing that stays the same is the happiness Fiona brings with each walk to campus.
“She [Fiona] was so small, she couldn’t really go very far, a couple houses. But little by little, I think her first big walk was over to Concordia (CUC),” said Howie Japlon, Fiona’s owner and husband of Mary Japlon.
Often navigating her own route when walking around campus with her owner, Fiona knows where the doors are to the buildings. There has actually only been very few buildings shes not been in on campus. “She [Fiona] used to wander into the training room. She’s been in the art gallery, she’s been in the campus center, she’s been in the new dorm building, she’s been in the old dorm building, she’s been in the administration building,” said Howie.
With the eagerness to approach anyone who calls her name, Fiona usually walks herself with whomever is handling her following closely behind. Mary Japlon described a freshman orientation group, and how they first heard Fiona become the campus dog.
“Everytime we would go over there, she [the orientation guide] would point out to the parents ‘there’s our campus dog Fiona.’ And at first we [Mary and Howie] would try to say, ‘well she’s not the campus dog but now we’re like OK,’ and now we just go stand with the group.”
Mary described Fiona’s main goal aside from receiving as much human attention as possible: to find food. With years of experience walking across Concordia, Fiona knows where the trash cans are, where the food comes from, and where the squirrels drop the food around campus. “She’ll find it, and every time at night when I’m out walking her, like she’s very disappointed if she can’t find something to take home. A wrapper is all she’s looking for, she just wants something to carry home,” said Mary.
Bringing Fiona’s two goals together is something that brings joy with each walk. That is why football season is one of Fiona’s favorites. “She knows when it’s football season because when we go out she will hear the announcer. She’ll make a beeline because she knows the canteen and burgers are going to be there,” said Howie.
Some say a dog’s brain has the ability to process smells 40 times greater than the human’s brain. With that being said, Fiona’s nose lets her know there is still one building she hasn’t been in yet on campus. Students and faculty are often seen going in and out of the revolving doors with food, or smelling like food. “She really wants to go to the cougar den,” Mary said, adding she thinks it’s best to leave that building unexplored since it serves food.
Where Else Does Fiona Go?
Fiona’s presence extends well beyond the sidewalks of CUC. With the help of Mary and Howie, Fiona became a certified Canine Good Citizen (CGC) in the spring of 2018. Canine Good Citizen (CGC) is an American Kennel Club (AKC) program to reward good manners for dogs and responsible pet ownership. Canine Good Citizen is a two part program that requires practice and evaluation before the certificate is awarded to the applicants.
Since becoming a CGC, Fiona, Mary, and Howie have been able to volunteer their time to help others. During the recent cold spell that happened in January, Fiona visited Oak Park Public Library where the homeless were staying out of the cold. “She enjoys seeing them, they enjoy seeing her,” said Mary,
Aside from visiting the homeless at the Oak Park Public Library, Fiona also goes there to help read to children once a month, and she visits hospice patients on separate occasions. In addition to all of the family’s volunteering, the Japlon’s received a phone call after the lockdown at Concordia University Chicago in the fall, and were asked to bring Fiona on campus, “. . . and we did,” said Mary.
Living in close proximity to CUC for many years has allowed them to see a lot of change. One change the Japlons are not enthused about is the departure of their neighbor, Dr. Daniel L. Gard. Being neighbors has allowed their family to see him often. Mary and Howie described Dr. Gard and his wife Annette Gard, as great neighbors, nice, and very welcoming on campus.
“We’ve seen them all [CUC Presidents]. We’ve been here 30 years. By far, he’s the most friendly” and “we really like him,” said Mary.
As Dr. Gard will be retiring at the end of this upcoming summer, a new president will take his spot. Not before one last traditional campus appearance at graduation, where Dr. Gard is handing diplomas to new CUC graduates. For many students this may be the last opportunity to see Dr. Gard; however for some, it may be just another opportunity to see Fiona.
“She [Fiona] usually goes to graduation. She greets everybody. Any place there is people she will park herself. Last year she walked through the building and it’s like she was doing low fives to everybody,” said Howie.
For many upcoming graduates, it may be the last time to pet Fiona as they depart campus for their next chapter. A reminder of the happiness that trots across campus daily, spelling out her name, is etched into a corner piece of concrete by the bell tower. Even though the Japlon’s are unaware of how her name got placed there, through their smiles, they said maybe it should have been a paw print instead.
