A guide dog for a legally blind college student lives by the "work hard, play harder" mantra.
Beasley, a 4-year-old yellow Lab who is a guide dog for Delaney Brooks, a 19-year-old legally blind college student, loves unwinding by breaking into highly energetic zoomies, spinning around like a tornado.
"More often than not, when given the opportunity, Beasley will do a couple rotations," Brooks told USA TODAY over email. "The intense cyclone zoomies like in her video seem to come out for one of two reasons: Maybe she feels that she has unfinished business, like when we just go out for a short errand, but she was expecting to have more to do; or when she’s had an exceptionally big day full of new sights and smells, and needs to release everything
that she worked so hard to hold in."
However, Beasley doesn't always break into a spin when she gets home. Sometimes she just "wants to curl up in bed," "like all of us," Brooks said.
'I absolutely love to see that unbridled joy from her'
Beasley was paired with Brooks in January 2024 when the latter was a high school junior in Virginia through the nonprofit Dogs Inc. The "impressive duo" – who Brooks' psychology teacher dubbed "Deasley" – is now in Scotland, where Brooks studies journalism and politics.
Brooks said her pet's "circles are one of my favorite things to see her do," and "something about seeing her let loose like this that I just love."
"She does them less as she matures, but I absolutely love to see that unbridled joy from her, especially when she does them on my bed," Brooks said. "I think it’s remarkable how controlled she actually is, because it looks like she’s going to give the area a tornado warning, but she’s still spatially conscious-enough that she can do them on my wee double bed with a squeaky ball in her mouth and not fall off."
Beasley 'totally deserves' the zoomies
Brooks said Beasley works very hard to keep her safe, navigating traffic, "avoiding wild swans and working in a place where she can’t understand the accents."
"For all the work Beasley does to look after me, I just love to see her switch out of professional mode and just be a ridiculous little Lab for a second," Brooks said. "She totally deserves it."
As Brooks' guide dog, Beasley's job includes guiding her owner around obstacles, indicating landmarks, alerting her to curbs or staircases, and finding the "the safest way around them."
Brooks praised Beasley’s "fantabulous puppy raiser" for training the dog and fostering "her love for work."
"I feel so much gratitude for the labor she put into starting Beasley off right and even though I don’t think it possible to properly thank her, I try my best," Brooks said.
Beasley quickly adapted to life in Scotland
While Beasley knew some general commands where she first joined Brooks, she had to do some relearning when Brooks moved across the Atlantic to pursue her dream of studying in Scotland.
Brooks said she had so many concerns about how she and Beasley would adjust in a new country, but all of them turned out to be "almost entirely unfounded," because the dog took to it like a duck to water.
"I was worried that Beasley would struggle with the traffic, but she was far better at it than I was and she saved my life more than a few times," Brooks said. "I was worried about how she’d fare on public transport, considering we came from the suburbs of Northern Virginia where we barely had access to any, but she rides the buses and trains like she’s done it every day of her life. I think for her, the public transport feels like a sort of mystery portal that drops her off in a surprise location."
Brooks said that though the two have "absolutely had our struggles," they feel "inconsequential in comparison to both of our love for this place." The two are now student ambassadors at Brooks' university, giving tours to prospective students and working at welcome events. Needless to say, Beasley is immensely popular.
"Beasley is someone who does everything in her life with every fiber of her being," Brooks said. "She is intense in all the best ways, and I love that about her. She approaches everything in her life with an enthusiasm that is almost comical."
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch guide dog let loose with 'intense cyclone zoomies'
