In loving memory of its namesake and on the anniversary of her untimely passing, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has announced it will provide fully funded grants to make visits from certified therapy dogs available to schools, libraries, and other facilities serving children.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to help pediatric patients and children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area, has partnered with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, a highly respected Morristown-based nonprofit, to enhance children’s lives through therapeutic visits with caring volunteers and their friendly pets.

Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, serves all or parts of eight northern and central New Jersey counties.

The nonprofit’s therapy dogs have visited several libraries and schools in Middlesex County, including Herbert Hoover Middle School in Edison, which Marisa attended, and the Edison Township Public Library, which Marisa frequented.

Staff members from Creature Comfort Pet Therapy structure therapy dog visits, tailoring each scheduled appointment to ensure it can be as effective and productive as possible.

Research shows interacting with a therapy dog can benefit children physically and mentally through the reduction of pain, anxiety, fatigue, stress, and depression.

Marisa Tufaro, who was hospitalized for a total of more than two years, enjoyed the benefits of interacting with therapy dogs during many hospital admissions.

Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing five years ago today at the age of 13 to a rare form of cancer.

Following one of her surgeries, Marisa was emotionally unprepared and seemingly physically unable to get out of bed until a therapy dog motivated her to do so. The magical moment, in which Marisa sat at the edge of her bed before eventually standing with the help of a physical therapist to pet the therapy dog, reduced one of her nurses to tears.

Marisa’s parents, Cyndi and Greg, who established the foundation to keep alive Marisa’s indomitable spirit and ensure her legacy could be one of helping children in need, hope others can experience the benefits of pet therapy.

In addition to dogs, Creature Comfort Pet Therapy also has some therapy cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs available for visits.

Schedule visits

Any Middlesex County-based school, library or facility that serves children is eligible to apply for grant-funded visits and work with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy to arrange for a certified therapy pet and trained owner/handler to:

  • Visit a library or school, where children can read stories aloud to a therapy dog, which can motivate young readers and increase their self-esteem, confidence, and communication skills.
  • Visit school children with physical, emotional, sensory, and learning disabilities, where pet therapy volunteers work with faculty and staff to determine how therapy dogs can best help students reach their goals.
  • Provide education to school-age children regarding the power of pet therapy and how to meet and behave around animals.
  • Visit a shelter, such as those for women who are victims of domestic abuse and violence, where pet therapy can augment counseling for children and support services for families.
  • Visit an elementary or middle school, where students may benefit from the calm and comfort a therapy pet can provide.
  • Visit a high school or college to help students de-stress during final exams week or cope with other pressures.
  • Visit summer camps and support groups to provide comfort to children and their families with specific challenges or needs.
  • Visit any other group or facility that serves children in need.

Details for submitting grant applications and requesting services can be found at the bottom of this story.

An ‘incredible experience’ for students

Matt Connelly, the principal at Lynn Crest Elementary School in the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township, knows firsthand the benefits of welcoming a therapy dog into a school building.

Lynn Crest guidance counselor Stacey Leusen worked with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy and another nonprofit to arrange for therapy dogs to visit the school in late October 2021, before the Omicron variant exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Mrs. Leusen shared with me the potential benefits, drawing particular attention to the social and emotional stress students have been under,” Connelly said. “Even though I was generally aware of the emotional benefits a therapy dog could offer, I couldn’t believe how significant an impact they had on our students. I was even surprised to see how much impact they had on our staff. As an ancillary benefit, they were just as comforted as our students.”

While observing classrooms, Connelly said the therapy dogs were “promoting comfort and happiness.”

“In literally every classroom I went in, students were smiling and laughing,” he said. “Whether a student who has a dog at home and was right up there with a hug, or if the student was scared and reluctant at first, the (volunteers) knew how to ease them into it and make them feel comfortable.

“Those smiles and those laughs were just universal and immediately made me realize how great an idea Mrs. Leusen had.”

Connelly said students with disabilities and those on the autism spectrum, many of whom are nonverbal or socially uncomfortable, appeared to benefit most from the visits.

“The dogs provided a really incredible experience for those students,” Connelly said. “The dogs provided a real calming effect in those classrooms, and also promoted a social interaction between the students and the dogs.”

‘A benefit to the community’

Creature Comfort Pet Therapy dogs have been a staple at the Metuchen Public Library, where a black Labrador retriever named Bruiser and his handler Joanne Markano made more than 100 visits to help children read.

Following in the paw prints of Bruiser, who passed, is Niles, another black Labrador retriever, continuing his predecessor’s legacy through the library’s read-aloud program.

“The children’s families are very supportive and the children are fascinated reading to Niles,” Metuchen Public Library Director Hsi Hsi Chung said. “We have so many adorable moments. The kids will read to Niles and even show the pictures in the book to Niles. It’s so precious. Children like to share their love of reading with him. We feel it’s a benefit to the community. I feel it’s a great program.

“I do have to give credit to those dog handlers and owners because their commitment and their dedication are what makes this program so successful.”

Chung said the Metuchen Public Library, which the pandemic impacted, is scheduled to resume full services next month, at which time she and her staff plan to revive in earnest the read-aloud program, bringing Niles back for encore appearances.

A profound impact

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s support for therapy pet visits also stems from Marisa’s love of her own dog. One of Marisa’s elementary school teachers generously gifted Dunkin, a beagle, to her a decade ago. Dunkin passed earlier this month following his own battle with cancer.

Since its inception exactly four and a half years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has already made a profound impact, donating more than $235,000 and spearheading multiple community initiatives to fulfill its mission. The nonprofit has donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value. The foundation has also awarded 25 college academic scholarships in Marisa’s name to high school seniors.

In addition to fully funding visits from certified therapy dogs and their handlers, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has made a separate donation to Creature Comfort Pet Therapy to assist in securing additional volunteers and therapy pets (visit bit.ly/volunteerCCPT to learn more about becoming a certified therapy team).

The goal is to expand the organization’s footprint in Middlesex County, where more children in need can benefit.

Apply for grants

Following is a timetable and instructions for schools, libraries, and other facilities serving children to apply for grant-funded visits with a therapy pet.

Feb. 1-28 (Application Period): Visit Creature Comfort’s website to request a one-time visit (bit.ly/onetimevisit) or recurring visits (bit.ly/recurringvisit). Answer the final question of the online form, which asks how you heard about Creature Comfort, by mentioning The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

March 1-14 (Grant Review Period): Requests will be processed and Creature Comfort Pet Therapy’s experienced staff will customize visits.

March 14-28: (Grant Award Period): Awarded applicants will receive confirmation and details of their scheduled visit(s) for the upcoming months.