![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3472-.jpg\")
Rock holds his student ID in his mouth on Sept. 23, 2025. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not every day that a dog earns a university student ID or is routinely found in a science lab.<\/p>\n
But Rock, a service dog for third-year pharmacy student Elizabeth Brownen, certainly has earned many firsts at UNT Health Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s the center of attention on campus, Brownen said, especially with her classmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kind of have a joke that he\u2019s my service dog and everybody else\u2019s emotional support dog,\u201d Brownen said. \u201cHe\u2019s really changed the outlook of the entire cohort, and they all absolutely love him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pup\u2019s presence, however, extends beyond hogging the spotlight. Thanks to Rock joining Brownen at the health science center, the university has become more accessible for those who have a disability. Now, accommodations that are not commonplace in the outside world are normal within UNT Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brownen is the first UNT Health student to have a service dog. She hopes the changes made in her time at the Fort Worth center can become commonplace across the pharmacy space.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen so much success that I know that it can happen,\u201d Brownen said. \u201cIt may be more difficult, but when is anything \u2014 when you\u2019re disabled \u2014 easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
A perfect pairing\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although not her original degree, Brownen took interest in pharmacy work when she was completing her undergraduate studies at Tarleton State University.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like seeing how one tiny little medication can really change your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Around that time, Brownen also suffered complete hearing loss. Despite struggling with hearing since she was about 13 years old, Brownen said she woke up one morning during finals week and had no hearing in her right ear.<\/p>\n
Rock holds his student ID in his mouth on Sept. 23, 2025. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Brownen received a cochlear implant in 2020 and regained much of her hearing. However, the Flower Mound native still struggles with identifying the direction of sounds, so she decided to apply for a service dog. In June 2022, she was matched with Rock.<\/p>\n
Brownen noted that it wasn\u2019t an immediate match made in heaven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s, in the best way possible, everything I wasn\u2019t expecting in a dog,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
But after going through team training with Rock, the connection felt true. Now, Rock continuously warns her about sounds she doesn\u2019t pick up, from a plane flying overhead to an elevator ding in the hallway, Brownen said.<\/p>\n
Improving accessibility<\/p>\n
At a basic level, Brownen\u2019s presence at UNT Health has reshaped the school.<\/p>\n
University officials became more aware of the campus\u2019s accessibility shortcomings and addressed them directly, Brownen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simple changes \u2014 such as screening captions during lectures and fixing push button door openers \u2014 have become more common on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On top of providing insights on basic accessibility, Brownen worked with the university on how best to allow Rock into clinical spaces. He now wears goggles, boots and other protective equipment in the compounding lab spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know that somebody\u2019s needs are different until you experience them,\u201d Brownen said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that a lot of people have learned from Rock and I, beyond being on campus, is how to be adaptable and how to be more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennifer Fix, an associate professor at the UNT Health College of Pharmacy and one of Brownen\u2019s teachers in lab work last year, said working with the pair was a \u201cwonderful experience\u201d to learn how to expand accessibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s essential that we adapt to support all of our pharmacy students and their unique needs,\u201d Fix said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Evan Robinson, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said Brownen and Rock\u2019s story is \u201can inspiring example of how resilience and support can help students flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brownen and Rock\u2019s effect on the university isn\u2019t isolated to the College of Pharmacy. Brownen has been to the other colleges on campus to talk about service dogs within the medical ecosystem.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3439-.jpg\")
Elizabeth Brownen gives Rock a set of commands on Sept. 23, 2025. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Brownen continues to push for education in the pharmacy industry outside of UNT Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s held specialty courses for licensed pharmacists, teaching professionals in the field how to make pharmacies more accessible. She\u2019s attended conferences to spread awareness to others in the medical education space.<\/p>\n
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy approved Rock\u2019s presence in pharmacies outside of sterile compounding areas. Nevertheless, Brownen said she has been denied entry to pharmacies while on rotation. Some pharmacies do not know their own protocol for service dogs, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing that I\u2019ve noticed with being disabled and being a service dog handler is education is probably the biggest barrier to accessibility \u2014 or lack of education, I should say,\u201d Brownen said.<\/p>\n
The other pharmacy students are incredibly supportive, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Small acts such as transcribing a teacher\u2019s lecture when captions aren\u2019t working or refraining from using the handicap accessible stall in the bathroom when other options are available are important, Brownen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, the principle expression of that support is how much everyone loves Rock. And that is most obvious on his birthday: Jan. 31.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hold a birthday party for him every single year, especially if it falls on a school day. I\u2019ll buy him a little cupcake, but sometimes we bring cupcakes to class for it,\u201d Brownen said. \u201cMy friends have bought party hats and balloons for the year that he was turning \u2014 it\u2019s really heartwarming to see everybody really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n
![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758084579_646_cc-by-nd-4.0.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n