Southern Regional Grad Faces Own Fears, Then Turns Family Dog Into Focus of First Book

Growing up in the Deer Lake Park section of Stafford Township, Amulya Veldanda Vadali was “deathly afraid” of dogs.

“I wouldn’t go to parks if they had dogs in them. I didn’t go trick-or-treating at houses where I knew dogs lived,” said Vadali, now 26. “When I first got to Southern Regional High School, in Kate Baker’s class, which was honors English, I couldn’t be there when she brought her dog, Brody. I’d have a panic attack.”

Eventually, Brody had soothed her fears, and she realized dogs weren’t all that bad.