Winnie the golden retriever is a member of the University of Northern Iowa’s Panther Marching Band. She practices with her cymbal-playing person and nearly 300 band members, wearing headphones to protect her hearing. Winnie is a service dog working with student Gabi Riessen who has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTD), a blood circulation condition that causes her to “pass out randomly without warning like my heart rate fluctuates more than most people,” she said.
Winnie’s presence has allowed Riessen to pursue her passion for music and get involved. "As we talked through things, it became more and more clear to me that not only did I think that it would be OK, I actually thought we'd be able to make it work very, very well," marching band director Justin Mertz told KCRG. "I'm a music educator and we believe that music is for everyone and it's our mission to provide these musical and educational opportunities for every single student."
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