The Wayne Hills counseling department’s “Pets for Less Stress” event hosted this past Wednesday was a success. With roughly 6 therapy dogs coming in to visit, students felt super relaxed and at ease from their worries in-and-out of school.

One of the more popular therapy dogs was Millie, owned by Lily Joyce. She is seven years old and has been a therapy dog for six years. According to Joyce, Millie first attended obedient school then therapy school to later receive her official therapy dog ID. She visits The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ every week to calm patients down and help them feel relaxed. “Millie receives a lot of smiles from patients as she helps take their mind away from some of the stress that they have,” remarked Joyce.

Another one of the therapy dogs is Pina, owned by Dana Finkelstein. Pina is four years old and has been a therapy dog for two years. “She usually goes to see old people once a week and makes them feel very happy,” commented Finkelstein.

Gavin, a large Shetland sheepdog, is another therapy dog that has brought smiles upon many of the students’ faces. Owned by Linda Deyoung, Gavin has been working for 17 years and has made numerous people, from children to adults, calm and excited. “Dog days are the best days of the school year,” expressed Deyoung.

Indeed, Deyoung’s statement is shared with various students who attended the event. “They’re honestly a break from all the stress I’ve been going through,” revealed Junior Jovitha Gopinath.

“It’s kind of nice to get out of class a little. It’s a break from everything. It’s things like this that really make me happy,” remarked Sophomore Rahav Dayan.

The “Pets for Less Stress” was an overall relaxing and helpful event that made numerous students feel less overwhelmed from the stress they were feeling.