CORPS OF CADETS
GOOD BOY: Growley II rides in a Homecoming parade with Zach Harding, a handler who graduated from the Corps of Cadets in 2021. Growley III, call sign Stryker, will join the corps this winter.
CORPS OF CADETS AMBASSADOR
GROWLEY II RETIRES AFTER FIVE YEARS OF SHARING THE Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets story and providing tail wags and morale boosts to cadets, Growley II (call sign “Tank”) will retire at the end of this semester. The 8-year-old yellow Labrador retriever has served honorably as the corps’ first canine ambassador. His reward? He soon will become the happily spoiled pet of one of his former handlers.
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Growley II arrived on campus during summer 2016 as a 3-year-old, the unexpected result of a miserable winter morning for then-cadet Zack Sever. The 2017 graduate is now a U.S. Navy lieutenant and F-18 pilot with Strike Fighter Squad-
ron 103 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia. That morning’s grousing turned to possible solutions. He drew inspiration from Texas A&M Corps of Cadets dog Reveille and the folklore of Virginia Tech’s corps having a dog decades ago. Sever worked with Col. Patience Larkin, a 1987 corps alumnus who retired from the U.S. Air Force and formerly served as the corps’ alumni director, to bring the idea of a corps dog—licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an exhibition animal—to Commandant of Cadets Maj. Gen. Randal Fullhart, who saw the dog as a unique opportunity to connect
the corps with all of Hokie Nation. Sever became the first handler, and under Larkin’s guidance, the program took shape. Today, Growley II is beloved across campus and has been featured on several Virginia Tech class rings. His service with the Corps of Cadets has been celebrated around campus and in Lane Stadium during the Hokies game against Duke. Current Growley Team cadets have spent over a year working with Ciao Bella Retrievers of Troutville, Virginia, to train Growley III. Shay Barnhart is the Corps of Cadets’ communications director. CORPS OF CADETS | DRILLFIELD | 15
