Rico Hits the Road During Fall 2025 Tour

MLI’s canine ambassador, Rico, began a week-long tour in Philadelphia, PA.  It was a busy day in Philly starting with a presentation and demonstration at Jay Cooke School. Following a visit with the students, Rico and the MLI team visited John Moffet School before hopping in the car to head to Berwyn, PA. 

Rico and team were welcomed by the AMETEK staff.  The trip to AMETEK was to thank them for their generous donation to Rico’s Reach Campaign.  We were surprised and happy to present to more than 30 AMETEK employees.  Rico did a great job with his demonstration and then interacted with the employees.

Our day in Philadelphia ended with a wonderful dinner with CHAMPS teachers from the Philadelphia area.  Although Rico’s visit to Philadelphia was short, he packed in quite a bit.  Following dinner, Rico traveled to Greenwich, Connecticut to get a good night’s rest before his work there began.

Rico spent three days in Greenwich visiting schools, participating in science classes, meeting with scout groups and organizations.  Rico always loves to visit the Brunswick School where students raised funds to sponsor him back in 2014.  It was clear that Rico was comfortable spending the day with 7^th grade science classes, as he walked around the classroom and even snuck under desks to get pets from the students.  The students learned about Rico’s career and how he uses his sense of smell to locate landmines.  We also visited the Brunswick Primary School where Rico demonstrated his sniffing skills to the kindergarten students.  They were such a wonderful audience.  We visited Greenwich Country Day School, Central Middle School, and North Mianus.  These three schools have been active participants in MLI’s CHAMPS program. Students at North Mianus continue to interact with students in Bosnia and Herzegovina through monthly virtual exchange calls.

 In addition to school visits, Rico participated in a cub scout meeting and visited the Boys and Girls Club.  Our final visit for the week was with our favorite senior group at Hill House Senior Living. The residents always show so much love and share many pets with Rico.

It was a busy week, and Rico was ready to get home to his own bed and to be with his buddy, Leo.