Then eighth-grade Delaney Miller sat in her Moorhead Junior High class as visiting Caney Creek High School agriculture students came through the classroom door with a brown eyed Bernedoodle. 

In an instant she locked eyes with those puppy dog eyes that changed her life. 

“I was so excited, cause I remember I got to see (the students) all teaching the younger kids about the dog and working with them,” Miller said. 

Miller’s animal love started by showing swines, horses and market animals, in the Montgomery County Fair and Houston Live Stock Rodeo. The high school visit gave her a new perspective. 

“I was really excited and was kind of hooked,” Miller said. “I was determined, like I’m gonna go mess with the dogs, I’m gonna work with them, and I just found a passion for it.” 

Freshman year, Miller joined the principals of agriculture class and worked into the veterinary medicine class by junior year, where she now works with large animals.

“It’s a lot of fun and I get to kind of meet the personalities of different dogs,” Miller said. 

Now a junior, Miller examines, walks and bathes the dogs during class. Students take care of four dogs brought in by the school staff every week. Miller said hands-on experience is important for real-world prep. 

“People that are like kind of get bored over just doing paperwork and stuff, they’re kind of like, ‘I don’t really know if this is for me,’ but really getting a dog in there is like, ‘hey, this is really for me, I really like this’ or they’re like, ‘I don’t really know,’” Miller said. “Because it (hands on experience) gives a different perspective rather than just being in a classroom, some people learn best like that, like me.”

Miller initially wanted to be a veterinarian, but is skeptical about the amount of schooling it’ll take – making her lean towards becoming a rodeo coordinator instead. Miller said the veterinary medicine class taught her how to properly take care of an animal, identify breeds and sicknesses they may deal with. 

“I’ve learned how to gain respect for all animals,” Miller said. “I really enjoy working with animals, but I felt like event coordinating and planning for rodeos and allowing animals to go to the rodeos would be more inspirational for me.”