Teachers interact with Thor the therapy dog in Pascack Valley. Contributed by Valerie Mattesich

Students turn the corner into the English hallway to see students crouched down waiting their turn to pet Thor, English Supervisor Valerie Mattesich’s labrador retriever turned Pascack Valley therapy dog.

Mattesich adopted Thor in 2016 from the Kohan family, whose children attend Pascack Valley. The Kohans were documenting their journey on Facebook about birthing and raising labrador retriever puppies, one of whom was Thor.

After seeing therapy dogs in PV and Pascack Hills, Mattessich thought her dog could also be a therapy dog. 

Since his certification in the spring of 2022, Mattesich has been bringing Thor with her between Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills to interact with the students.

“He has certain fan clubs,” Mattesich said. “They ask when I am bringing the dog again. He attracts smiles from every student.”

Mattesich explains that she is very grateful to the principals at both schools for allowing her to bring Thor with her. She said working with Thor has given her unique opportunities to build relationships with many students and colleagues.

“[Bringing therapy dogs to school] can help with social-emotional learning; we look at providing students with a break during testing and have time to see the faces light up,” PV Principal John Puccio said.

Puccio and Mattesich express that having a therapy dog like Thor can have many positive impacts on the Pascack Valley student body.

“I think it brings awareness to wellness and mental health,” Mattesich said. “It is not academic; it is just life and learning how to find joy. Look at [Thor]—he is just wagging his tail, loving life, and that makes everyone happier.”

Thor continues to get many calls from the organization he was certified from, The Bright and Beautiful, to visit hospitals and community centers; instead, Thor accompanies Mattessich to school some days. Mattesich said that she believes his time is best spent roaming the halls of PV and PH.

As a dog owner himself, Puccio was very excited about the idea of bringing in more therapy dogs, hoping to potentially have one in PV every day.

 “We have met with other administrators outside of New Jersey that bring therapy dogs to school every day,” Puccio said. “Faculty would basically be the foster owners and bring their dogs to work. I’m pretty confident we wouldn’t have a hard time finding foster homes.” 

The future of therapy dogs seems bright for both Mattessich and Puccio. They hope to have therapy dogs at school every day. 

“Having Thor in the halls can help anyone,” Mattesich said. “Even if the dog makes that person happy for that minute, that makes it worth it.”