Imagine jumping for joy or spinning with pure excitement for the chance to go to class. Hard to picture? Well, it’s certainly not for Chuey.
Chuey is the long-haired chihuahua belonging to Dr. Karen Lauritzen, Assistant Professor of Education at Millikin. Lauritzen got Chuey around a year ago in October, and after hearing students express how much they miss their pets back at home, she had an idea.
“I thought about it, and he is so friendly,” Lauritzen said. “He just loves people, and he is so gentle and sweet. I just thought, “I bet he would love coming to class.” The first time I brought him to class, students cried, actually teared up. It just made students feel so much better, and so I knew this was something I needed to keep doing.”
The impact on students has made Chuey a treasured member of the School of Education at Millikin, and Chuey’s visits have become a tradition in Lauritzen’s classes.
“The first time students meet Chuey, their eyes light up, and they get this sense of joy, and they smile so much,” Lauritzen said. “Everyone’s just so happy, and I think we all need a little bit more happiness in our lives.”
Lauritzen adopted Chuey in October 2024. Chuey is almost two years old now.
He has two other chihuahua siblings as well, but because of his particularly sweet personality and aptitude towards people, he is the only one who gets the privilege of being a student on campus throughout the year.
“He loves being a college student here at Millikin,” Lauritzen said. “When I tell him at home that he’s going to college, he just does little spin moves and looks over to where his harness is. He just gets so excited, like he knows. He’s a celebrity here.”
Even though Chuey comes in a small package, he packs a lot of personality. When he makes an appearance in classes, he can often be seen hanging out on top of desks and being photographed like the absolute icon he is.
“They love taking pictures of him,” Lauritzen said. “I end up seeing pictures of him on social media, and it cracks me up. He loves the attention.”
Students who have been in Lauritzen’s classes in past semesters wait eagerly for the next opportunity to see Chuey. Some students even feel like they’ve created a bond with him. Madison Walker, a junior at Millikin in the School of Education, first met Chuey in the fall semester of 2025. The two forged a connection when Walker noticed something in his mouth.
“He had something in his mouth, and he was just walking around the classroom, and I was like, ‘Chuey, what do you have in your mouth?’” Walker said. “I don’t want to say what it was, but I took it out of his mouth. I saved his life, and ever since then, we’ve been best friends.”
While some dogs might create total chaos in a classroom and result in the classic “the dog ate my homework” scenario, Chuey brings a surprising calmness without distracting from the importance of in-class lectures.
“He’s very energetic, but he’s also a calm dog,” Molly Besser, a junior in the School of Education, said. “I feel like most dogs aren’t calm, but he is.”
Even though there was a dog walking around while Lauritzen was instructing the classroom, students’ focus was not hindered in any way. Questions were still being asked, and in-class work was still being accomplished.
“I feel like the energy is completely different,” Walker said. “I feel like everyone’s more engaged in class, and he’s just there. He’s cute, and he’s walking around, so it’s nice.”
Chuey’s amiable demeanor and excellent manners tend to win over even the biggest small dog critics, including Walker. When it comes to Chuey, strangers are simply friends he has not met yet.
“I was surprised by how small he is, and he’s just so cute,” Walker said. “He’s so small, but he’s so polite. I don’t usually like small dogs, but I love Chuey.”
With this in mind, the next time that walk to class seems too long, or it seems like you’re completely out of motivation, just remember there is a teeny tiny black and white chihuahua that would gladly jump and spin at the opportunity to take your place.
