Saturday, November 8, 2025
The Kellenberg Phoenix, Kellenberg Memorial High School’s student newspaper, once joked that the “Kellenberg dogs” might be one of the biggest reasons students choose the Catholic school.
Around its Uniondale campus, it’s perfectly normal for a dog to wander into a classroom with its handler — and many would say the dogs are really the ones in charge. Currently there are five dogs and they have become a defining part of the school’s everyday life.
After the deaths of two of them, 12-year-old Tobit, in 2019, and Beato, 7, in August, two new puppies joined the school community this fall — Magnus, an 11-week-old Samoyed, and Frassati, a 24-week-old miniature Bernese mountain dog.
“Magnus and Frassati are loving life at Kellenberg Memorial, and we love that they’re here,” Father Dan Griffin, chaplain of Chaplain & Assistant Principal for Mission and Marianist Identity and the owner of Frassati.
Brother Kenneth Hoagland, Kellenberg’s principal, is Magnus’s handler. The dogs are officially owned by the Province of Meribah and the Marianist community, which also provides the funds for their care.
The Society of Mary, known as the Marianists, is a 200-year-old Catholic religious congregation of brothers and priests. All of the dogs’ names have reflected the school’s Catholic identity.
Magnus name comes from the Latin “magnanimous,” meaning “great soul.” Frassati is named after Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was canonized as a saint by Pope Leo XIV on Sept 7.
Other dogs that are part of the school include Assistant Principal of Activities Bro. Roger Poletti’s Matthias, the Apostle, an 8-year-old Yorkie, and Chaplain Fr. Thomas Cardone’s 9-year-old miniature golden doodle, Goretti, named after St. Maria Goretti.
“It is our firm belief that atmosphere educates — the dogs only further that belief, serving as a calming presence and welcomed sight,” Tara O’Donoghue, Kellenberg’s communications director, said.
“The new dogs joined our family right around the time our new students did,” Griffin said. “It’s definitely fun to witness the personalities of both the pups and these young minds emerge simultaneously.”
Hoagland and Griffin live on campus with their canine companions in the Marianist Residence — home to the Marianist brothers and priests who live and work at the school — and the animals are rarely out of their sight. Dogs have been part of the fabric of Kellenberg since its founding in 1987.
“They serve as companions to our brothers, the Marianist leaders of our school,” O’Donoghue explained, “and over time have become a fully integrated part of their day. Magnus will be outside Brother Ken’s office and will have a line of students waiting to pet him, because students don’t want to go home without saying goodbye.”
Students are encouraged to interact with the dogs, but always with caution. While the new pups are now acclimated to the school environment, O’Donoghue said that it took a few weeks. Frassati was very shy at first, but now he knows what it means to take a walk with a few students and “petted” It’s not uncommon to see lines of students waiting to greet the new companions before or after classes — and the dogs are eager for the attention.
“When the dogs are ready, we equip our students with the proper guidelines to walk and spend quality time with them,” O’Donoghue said. “Our students have handled these responsibilities beautifully.”
The dogs, she added, “are among the most treasured members of the Kellenberg Memorial family. They have become a staple of our community and are constantly sought out by students and parents alike.”
