WAYNE, N.J. (PIX11) – He’s what dog owners would call “the goodest of boys.”
Look into his eyes and you’ll see Thor is not just a dog, but a friend. Thor is also a therapy dog at Schuyler-Colfax Middle School in Wayne, New Jersey. He even has his own staff picture.
“I think life has definitely changed since we introduced Thor to the students,” said Lisa Klink. “Kids absolutely adore him, staff love him. They like to pet him, brush him, feed him and he likes to mumble and make noises, which makes everyone laugh. He gives really good, positive vibes when we’re there and we just really adore him.”
A little more than a week ago, Klink, who is Thor’s owner and a teacher at the school, noticed he was having a bad day.
“He was kind of laying around, he wasn’t really playing with his tennis ball,” said Klink. “We first thought maybe he just ran a little bit too hard and needed to rest. Over the course of the weekend, it got a little worse. Once they did do the MRI, [the vet] told me she saw some degeneration in the discs, and one had completely ruptured, so she had recommended he immediately go into surgery that night.”
Thor endured a three-hour-long surgery to repair the damage.
“We were bawling,” said Klink. “We didn’t know if he was paralyzed. We didn’t really know what was going to happen once we took him to the vet.”
Thankfully, Thor made it through – but his bills quickly reached into the five figures. A GoFundMe page was created and within 24 hours, the community had raised more than $10,000.
“It was absolutely incredible to watch those numbers,” said Klink. “It was staff members at my school, staff members letting parents know, students were giving money to the GoFundMe, which was absolutely so, so touching.”
Thor’s treatment could last four to six weeks and he still needs support.
“He’s a great dog and we really, really adore him,” said Klink.
