COVER LETTER · DRAFT 4

Dale R. Pemberton

B.A. Animal Sciences (almost), Cert. Substitute Teaching, K-12

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Dale Pemberton. I have been substitute teaching at Westbrook Middle School for 11 years. I was supposed to finish my Animal Sciences degree in 1998 but my dog Rusty had separation anxiety and I missed the final.

On Tuesday, October 14th, I was covering 7th-grade health for Mrs. Henderson when a student named Jamie asked me why her family's cat “screams at the toaster.” I gave a 40-minute extemporaneous lecture on redirected aggression, sensory triggers, and operant conditioning. The class was, for the first time in my career, silent.

Since then, parents have been emailing me. I have been answering, mostly during my prep period, sometimes during lunch, occasionally at 2 AM. The principal has asked me to “stop running an unlicensed pet hospital out of Room 207.”

So I built a website instead. The diagnoses are real. The exhaustion is real. The dice were Jamie's idea.

Please show your vet the case files. They will respect the work.

Sincerely,

D. Pemberton

substitute teacher / behavior consultant / tired

Disclaimer: This service offers behavioral guidance only. It is not veterinary medical advice. If your pet shows red-flag symptoms, see a licensed veterinarian. Mr. Pemberton agrees.