The staff at ITM couldn’t be more excited about our latest / greatest addition. He is smart, funny, easy going, energetic (at the same time, naps a lot), and an 8 week old Chihuahua puppy named Finley.

It is absolutely amazing to walk into the administrative office hallways and hear our school director Valerie ‘baby talk’ Finley, which is often times followed by the squeak of a little rubber ball, and then see this guy come scampering out of the office. Off he goes… running down the hallway… and then he stops…. terribly lost 15 feet from where he started, shaking, looking around for help, and hoping to get back home to his plush doggie bed or flannel blanket lined dog carrier – the epitome of cute! Look at those radar dishes he calls ears!!

He immediately won our hearts, and everyone was elated to hear that he would be joining us every day at the school while his mommy and daddy were at work. We will all be participating in raising him, and are already lining up to walk him when the weather gets better, and he is properly house broken. This is going to be one well trained, and loved doggie!

We all joke about what kind of therapist would he be, and what classes would he take. Would he want to become a Massage Therapist? A Personal Trainer? Shiatsu Practitioner? A combination of all 3? Which New Jersey school would he like to learn his craft at? Northern / Southern NJ Program locations? Classroom or Hospital Based? What Continuing Education Classes would he take to get his CEU credits? Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Monmouth or Ocean County? Would he want to get his New Jersey Certification, New York License, or National Certification? NCETM, NCETMB (NCBTMB), or MBLEx (FSMTB)? So many questions!!

The good news is that we are going to share his journey (via this blog and facebook page), and hope that you enjoy it with us. Once he gets a little older, we will bring him on field trips into the different classrooms to meet the ITM students, for if he was able to change the place where we work, and put a smile on our faces, then we are sure that he will be able to bring the same warmth and love to our students as well. Who knows.. depending on how well he is received, perhaps a field trip to Morristown, Newark, Red Bank and Toms River are in his future. Now, if we can only find a massage therapist t-shirt that fits…