Wilmington Police Welcome Dog 'Zena' To Social Worker's Team

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington police has a new member, Chief Joseph Desmond said Wednesday: an 11-week old Bernedoodle named Zena.

Zena "is joining the Health & Recovery Unit to aid residents of Wilmington who have struggles with mental health, substance use, other behavioral health – or are just having a hard day," Desmond said. "Zena loves bringing smiles to faces, letting new friends pet her, and learning new things. Zena has started basic training and over the next year will be engaged in extensive training in order to become a Therapy Dog."

Zena's handler is Samantha Reif, the department's in-house social worker. Together, they will take classes "to create a respected relationship" and explore town as part of the dog's exposure and socialization training, Desmond said.

"There is a lot of research to support the positive impact of therapy dogs in situations of high stress, trauma, and difficulty," Reif said. "Once Zena is fully trained we are optimistic that she will be able to provide an additional form of therapeutic alliance with clients that I work with. Some research suggests that humans feel more comfortable expressing themselves through dogs."

All ages benefit from the presence of animals, Reif said.

"I am lucky to be able to have Zena as a new partner, as she will be able to provide physical touch as a sensory component to community members," she continued. "Once fully trained, Zena will aid in co-response with me to calls for service in the community and will be part of follow-up meetings with community members if they are comfortable with her attendance."

Zena will follow the American Kennel Club's training schedule to become a tested "Canine Good Citizen," and then undergo more specialized training to become a formal therapy job.

"Part of her early training is to expose her to as many environments, situations, people (different ages, different dress attire, different physical features, etc.), animals, etc. as possible – early exposure will assist in having her be more comfortable and well rounded in the future," Reif said. "She’s also been eager to learn new commands and manners."

As a Bernedoodle, Zena's mother is a Bernese Mountain Dog and her father is a Poodle. She was selected out of 100s of dog breeds for the good nature and learning ability of Bernedoodles as well as the hypoallergenic, non-shedding poodle genes.

"Zena has quickly learned the basics already – “sit”, “lay”, “touch” (aka “come”), and is currently working on “stay." Zena has already provided lots of smiles and joy to her co-workers at the station and is looking forward to making more," Desmond said.

The department was able to add a therapy dog with a donation from the International Family Church, Desmond said.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or [email protected].