County schools’ most cherished employee retires

Cliff Williams / TPI Brandi Reiske tries to get a cupcake wrapper from Popcorn at his retirement ceremony. Popcorn was on the job for nine years at Wetumpka Elementary School as a therapy dog.

A former employee who spent 63 dog years of service to students, staff and faculty died Thursday after a short battle with cancer.

Popcorn retired 15 human months ago from her job as a facility dog at the school helping with anxiety and mental health issues. She was the first such dog in the State of Alabama more than 10 years ago when she first started to walk the halls of Wetumpka Elementary with handler and paraprofessional Brandi Reiske.