The Leesburg Police Department in Virginia had long toyed with the idea of a wellness program involving a dog for officers, so when Officer Kristine Rzewnicki came across the nonprofit Thin Line Service Dogs over the summer, she was sold.
Rzewnicki filled out an application to become a volunteer and help train a puppy, starting a process she anticipated would help her colleagues. And then, she learned she’d be getting a 1-year-old golden retriever.
Mooney, named after Stafford County Deputy Sheriff Jason Mooney who was killed on the job in 2007, has only been on the job for about two weeks, but Rzewnicki said his presence has already had a significant impact on some officers.
Unlike some police dogs trained to escort officers in the community, Mooney’s main job is supporting officers within the department. Sometimes, in the event of a “critical incident,” such as a pediatric patient who codes or an injured officer, Mooney will leave the office to support Rzewnicki’s colleagues in the field.
“It’s paramount because oftentimes there’s still a stigma with mental wellness and emotional well-being in the first responder profession,” Rzewnicki said. “Sometimes, just having a dog around and someone touches and pets a dog, they don’t realize the impact that it’s had on their emotions, in their physiology. It just happens organically.”
Mooney, who wears a vest around the office, hangs around Rzewnicki’s desk, but she said she usually can’t make coffee or grab something from the printer without a colleague seeking his affection.
He attends roll call, too, as Rzewnicki sometimes checks in with officers who work late-night shifts. That was particularly helpful recently, when Rzewnicki said officers responded to a “rough call” last weekend.
“It was a perfect opportunity for me to be here in the morning and touch base with officers, and just see them touch him and their faces light up (and) smile,” she said.
One officer recently told Rzewnicki he got up excited to come to work because he knew he would see Mooney, and others notice when he’s not in the office.
The pup, who Rzewnicki compares to The Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz,” does get a break when he goes home with her and the vest comes off, getting the chance to run around the yard.
Anjanette Montano, founder of Thin Line Service Dogs, said Mooney is learning about stressors, blood flow and differences in heart rates. The nonprofit gives service dogs to disabled first responders and veterans for free.
To help train the puppies, Montano said the group relies on volunteers like Rzewnicki, who apply to work with the organization.
It’s beneficial for both parties, Montano said, because Leesburg police don’t have to pay to have Mooney, and Rzewnicki is helping with a step in the training process. After about a year in Leesburg, Mooney will move on to work with another person, or group of veterans or first responders.
“We don’t have to wait until a dog is placed as a service dog to give back to our heroes,” Montano said.
Thin Line is monitoring Mooney’s progress, and Montano said he’s learning to turn light switches on and off, interrupt cues of post-traumatic stress disorder such as leg shaking, open and close cabinets and get medication.
“It is so imperative that we get these dogs in the hands of our first responders and our veterans to help mitigate what they’re going through, to move that PTSD somewhere else when they’ve had a critical incident,” Montano said.
For now, Mooney is doing his part, making the rounds at police headquarters.
“He’s always smiling,” Rzewnicki said. “It’s hard not to smile and relax when you’re around him.”
