When I first heard about this story, I knew I would need to find out more. I spoke with Mark Gengaro, Assistant Superintendent of the Clifton, N. J school district. As a former NYC teacher who worked with Special Education. students and a lover of dogs, this sounded like a fantastic idea.
The Clifton district has 11,000 students who are diverse in ethnicity, academic ability, and economic status. With such a large constituency it is difficult to meet all student’s needs. Bringing a therapy dog into a school setting had to be well thought out by Gengaro.
Considerations
In order to move his idea into action, he had to get the support of the district. They approved the cost, which is $17,000 for the training. There are liability concerns, as well as concerns of pet allergies. Gengaro wanted to be the first dog’s handler, which made it easier for the district to buy in. He’s not tied to a classroom and can be more flexible than a teacher. As the handler, there are expenses involved. The cost of a dog is $3,500. Food, veterinary charges, and other doggie extras can add up. The Assistant Superintendent will do it all, including going through training himself.
Breeding & Training
Once approval was given by the board, Gengaro had to find his star pup–il. After researching, he decided upon the breeder Pride & Prejudoodles. They specialize in breeding doodle dogs. This is important because they are hypoallergenic. These address concerns about allergies. P&P is in Hurt, Virginia. On their beautiful farm, they also provide training.When Gengaro came with his district’s needs they had no problem finding the right candidate and would get him school ready.
Chewy
Named Chewbacca from Star Wars fame. His breed is a goldendoodle. As a pup, Chewy showed the special attributes that would make him the choice to be trained as a therapy dog for school. Chewy flew through his education as an A+ student. Gengaro, the handler, went through extensive training as well.
One morning, Gengaro was walking Chewy and came upon a child refusing to enter the school. With the dog’s companionship, the student entered the building. Although Chewy is requested for school events and calming upset children, his–well being must be maintained. He works 3 days a week, 2 hours a day. He attended 300 events in his first year.
This video shows the story of Chewy and how he is loved by the Clifton School District. The cool gentlemen that is Chie’s handler is Mark Gengaro, Clifton, N.J. School District Assistant Superintendent. The students got a very special surprise on this day. The pack is getting another member as shown in the video. His name is Solo. However, he never has to worry about being alone. His handler is a counselor at the High School , Mirta Lopez. Solo was a gift from the Chewy Pet company. They gave $17,000 for Solo and an extra $1,000 to each handler.
Chewy gets a Pack
Chewy has brought a lot of positivity to the Clifton School District, but he needed help. It was determined two new pups would join that Chewy. His pack mates, also goldendoodles, are named Kobe and Teddy. Jessica Tremble, the district K–8 counseling supervisor, would be the handler for Teddy. Paula Raigoza, multi-peer teacher, is the handler for Kobe. The two dogs were introduced to the school board in September and were to start their deployment at the end of October.
Teddy & Kobe
There was a plan for the pack to make their initial appearance. As fate would have it, a school administrator died. The staff was notified of their loss,on Oct 7. Everyone was devastated. To help process emotions, team Chewy was called into service. Even teachers that felt trepidation about the dogs welcomed them in their time of grief. The next day, the crew returned to comfort the students in their classrooms as they were informed about the passing of the beloved principal.
Meet the rest of the pack. Introducting Paula Raigoza, handler of Kobe , (multi peer teacher (right) and Jessica Tremble, district K-8 counseling supervisor.(left) She is Teddy’s handler. The pups llive with this dedicated educators and bear the expenses for them.
Conclusion
The dogs have been such a win for the Clifton School District that Gengaro hopes to grow the pack. He would like to have one in each of the schools. There is already one in the pipeline for the High School.
Therapy dogs are becoming more widespread. Other countries, such as Australia, have found brilliant success using dogs in their school programs. Congratulations to Assistant Superintendent, Mark Gengaro on taking the reins on this innovative plan. He saw a need for his district and took action. Hopefully, more schools will follow his lead and do the same. For this reason, I say WTH!
Stay tuned for my opinion piece on therapy dogs in a school setting.
