The Calais School in Whippany observed National Therapy Animal Day on Friday, April 30 with a celebration of its Animal Assisted Interventions Program and a dedication of the new Calais Paw Park on the school campus.

About 30 members of the school staff, students, board members and invited guests, gathered outside under a tent for a special socially distanced program commemoration ceremony before walking over to the dog park for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and dedication and to watch the dogs in the school’s Animal Assisted Interventions Program get the chance to play in their new dog park. The park will be dedicated to the school’s original dogs from when the program was initiated in 2013. A plaque unveiling will also take place. The Calais School is a state approved highly therapeutic special education school for students in grades K through 12 plus with multiple learning disabilities. The AAI Program has helped hundreds of students both in-person and virtually.

“On this special day, all aspects that make our Animal Assisted Therapy program unique will be highlighted -aspects of the past, present and future,” said Calais Animal Assisted Interventions Coordinator Tiffany Shevchik. “I am grateful to share this time with you to honor our dogs, students and staff.”

“Helping students achieve success with speech, behavior, reading and executive skills is a life-altering experience that can impact the quality of life of our graduates in the years to come,” said Calais Executive Director David Leitner, who recognized all of the school’s staff and related service therapists  “who are working together with our students to develop and deliver Animal Assisted Therapies for mental health, occupational therapy, reading, speech and language therapy and social skills building.”

Upper School Counselor Marjane Vitaletti noted that the dogs help many students during counseling sessions. “They have improved student communication, peer relationships and assisted with grief counseling and cohesiveness during group sessions,” she said. “By interacting with the dogs, student engagement increases. The students become more open to participating in activities and in group discussions.”

The dogs also assist students with reading every day at the school, said Calais Reading Specialist Tara Nelson. “The AAI Program is a wonderful part of the reading program at the Calais School,” she said. “In sessions, students learn decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills. The AAI Program effectively engages students in lessons. Students carefully watch how the dogs incorporate vocabulary terms, decoding abilities and reading comprehension skills into the lesson in a fun way.”

Speech Language Pathologist Mara Friedman said the dogs motivate her students. “I almost always see an immediate improvement in my student’s performance; they are more motivated, more engaged, happier and more communicative,” she said. “It’s quite difficult to look into these big doggie eyes and be in a bad mood.”

Students also say that the dogs help them learn. “Each one of the dogs help me when I am feeling anxious because I can just pet them or look at them and feel better,” said Carly S., an upper school student. “When I am not feeling up to coming to school, knowing that I will be seeing the dogs helps motivate me to get up and come to school.”

“Working with the dogs makes me feel happy,” said Madison F, a student in the upper school. “They are so comforting to me when I am stressed.”

The new Calais Paw Park features several dog toys including ramps, a plastic hydrant and rope toys. It is decorated with art created by the school students. The park was funded by donations from a special December fundraiser for the school. The school’s Animals Assisted Interventions Program is also supported by The Calais Foundation.

National Therapy Animal Day was created to recognize the exceptional pet therapy animals who partner with humans, their trained handlers, to bring comfort and healing to those in need in hospitals, pediatric care units, assisted living facilities and schools. The day raises awareness and educate the public about how these dogs enhance the health and wellbeing of others.

Members of the Provident Bank Foundation attend the opening of the new Paw Park.

Members of the Provident Bank Foundation attend the opening of the new Paw Park.

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