Our Crusader puppy, Finnegan, is stealing hearts! Mr. Oates has been bringing his pup to school regularly this school year. Staff and students, alike, love having him! He can brings smiles and snuggles, making the school day a little brighter, no matter the weather outside. The Crusaders are a family, complete with their own family pet!
Finn can be found cruising the hallways to visit students, in the cafeteria when he knows it's lunch time, or when the bell rings, he comes out in the hallway to greet students as they move from class to class. He's even gone on the road, visiting our elementary partner schools .
Finn is being featured in the Stark, Actually Series! Read all about it below.
Stark, actually: Meet Finnegan, unofficial mascot & canine 'Crusader' at Central Catholic
Tim Botos
February 24, 2025
The "Stark, actually" featurettes are about people, places and things in Stark County.
What: Finnegan, a 1-year-old bichon shih tzu mix.
Where: Canton Central Catholic High School in Perry Township. The dog, who belongs to Principal Dave Oates and his wife, Kellie, roams the hallways, classrooms and cafeteria on most school days.
When: This photo was taken during lunch last week.
The story: It started in the spring, near the end of the last school year. Oates brought his new puppy — who goes by Finn for short — to school one day. Students loved the dog. Finn loved them.
Now, he's a fixture.
"He's in charge of the school, or at least thinks he is," Oates said.
A stuffed monkey, tennis ball and assorted other dog toys have a home inside Oates' office, though they often turn up elsewhere. When students stop to see the principal, they usually ask only one question.
"It's 'Where's Finn?'" Oates said.
The 15-pound, sandy-brown, long-haired bundle of energy could be anywhere (though Oates keeps a GPS tag on him, just in case). Finn largely has free rein of the school's four floors. His busy schedule includes monitoring crowded halls between classes and lunch duty, snaking a path around and under tables to clean up misplaced morsels.
Of course, he's always up for a little play time.
Or a few cuddles.
Finn, who sports a green and white "Central Catholic" bandana around his neck, is probably as popular as any of the school's 350 students. Crusaders are the school's official mascot, but Finn holds a somewhat unofficial mascot title.
To celebrate the dog's recent first birthday, Central Catholic's chef, Ryan Oliver, prepared enough birthday cake to feed the entire school.