HELENA — Some of Carroll College's best boys and girls graduated on Friday as part of the school's Anthrozoology Program.

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"We put so much time and dedication into these dogs," said Maggie Young.

She is a Carroll senior majoring in Anthrozoology and minoring in Chemistry.

Young had her own dog, Bailey, go through the training program.

"She has matured and grown so much. I really attribute to the training that not only I did, but also some of the other students in the program had the ability to," Young said. "I'm so incredibly grateful for this experience Carroll gave me, and I wouldn't change it for the world."

This year, the program graduated three foster dogs, one junior dog, three facility dogs, and three senior project dogs.

Some dogs come from shelters for the nine-month training program, which teaches animals skills that can make them more adoptable.

"I got a puppy that was really not used to being handled by people," said Mariah Moran. "To go from that to a classroom where he sees six other dogs a day was navigating his nerves and his personality and just growing his confidence."

Students in the program live and work with the animals during the academic year, a unique aspect of Carroll's program.

"I knew a lot of programs could give me the sciences to go to that school, but I really thought of what could give me the hands-on experience with animals," said Moran.