Starting in September, the Bayonne School District students will meet two special dogs: Mabel, a Golden Retriever-Pyrenees mix, and Ernie, a Goldendoodle puppy.
Amazingly, these dogs are part of a new therapy dog program designed to help students feel better emotionally and mentally.
- Therapy dogs Mabel and Ernie will start visiting Bayonne schools in September to help students feel better.
- Therapy dogs are known to reduce stress, make students happier, and support mental health.
- This new program is part of a larger effort to help students with their mental well-being.
How Therapy Dogs Will Help Bayonne Students
The Bayonne School District is starting a therapy dog program to address students’ growing mental health needs.
Mabel and Ernie will visit different classes and events throughout the school year.
Superintendent John Niesz, also Ernie’s handler, shared that these dogs will visit at least once a week, comforting and supporting students.
Inspired by the enthusiastic reception to a previous classroom visit, the program began when Danielle Travelino and Matt Allen brought Mabel, a therapy dog, to Mary J. Donohue School.
The visit was so well-received that the Board of Education, led by President Jodi Casias, approved using two therapy dogs starting in September.
Building on this initiative, Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Veccheriallei researched the benefits of therapy dogs, which played a key role in convincing the Board to move forward with the program.
And therapy dogs like Mabel and Ernie, who are specially trained to provide comfort and support, are becoming a valuable resource in schools.
More and more, schools are using therapy dogs to help students manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
Therapy Dogs Are Helping More Students in NJ Schools
Bayonne is not alone in using therapy dogs. Across New Jersey, more schools are bringing in therapy dogs to help students cope with mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Tricia Baker, co-founder of Attitudes in Reverse, a group that focuses on mental wellness, says that interacting with therapy dogs has been shown to reduce stress and make students feel better.
Baker explained that when students pet therapy dogs, they often start talking about their feelings and struggles, which they might not do otherwise. And this interaction can help students feel calmer and safer.
In collaboration with various schools across New Jersey, including Middletown, Hopewell, Ewing, South Hunterdon, and Lyndhurst, Attitudes in Reverse helps school staff train their own therapy dogs—a process that typically takes about 11 months.
And Baker, who owns six therapy dogs, personally sees the profound impact these dogs have on students’ lives.
The Big Benefits of Therapy Dogs for Students’ Mental Health
Undoubtedly, therapy dogs in schools do more than reduce stress as they help improve students’ overall well-being in many ways.
What’s great is that these dogs can lower anxiety, boost feelings of happiness and belonging, help calm students during challenging moments, and reduce negative behaviors.
And, of course, this leads to better mental health for students and a more positive school environment.
The Bayonne School District’s therapy dog program highlights the significance of mental health support in schools.
Initiatives like this encourage students to seek help when needed and manage their emotions more effectively, contributing to greater success both academically and personally.
As more schools across New Jersey and beyond adopt similar programs, this is expected to positively affect the students’ overall well-being in the district.
