Virginia high schooler's service dog gets own yearbook entry

May 25 (UPI) -- A Virginia high school student's service dog is gaining fame among classmates as well as online after a photo of the canine's yearbook photo went viral.

Andrew "AJ" Schalk, 16, a student at Stafford High School, said his service dog, Alpha, started going to school with him in December 2015. The student, who has Type 1 Diabetes, said Alpha's job is to alert him when his blood sugar gets too low or high.

Schalk said Alpha became such a welcome presence at the school that he was given his own school ID and a picture in the yearbook, where his name is listed as "Schalk, Alpha."

A photo of Alpha's yearbook entry went viral after a picture was posted to Twitter by senior Diana Bloom.

"Seeing a picture of a dog caught my eye pretty quickly," Bloom told BuzzFeed News. "I thought it was so cute, and I knew that some of my underclassmen friends hadn't seen it yet because they didn't have their yearbooks so I took a picture and tweeted it."