Rescue Dog Provides Vital Services at Crisis Center

Spaniel-mix Penny is a valued staff member at Crisis Center North in Pennsylvania. Her ability to “read” clients and give them the help they need has earned her an Honorable Mention honor in the 2021 AKC Awards for Canine Excellence. Read her story:

Office staff looked forward to Penny’s visits. The spaniel-mix frequently accompanied her owner to work where her friendly presence gave everyone a mood boost. But one day, Penny’s casual trips turned serious. The rescue dog made a connection with a client that led to her promotion to an important position at Crisis Center North, an organization that helps victims of domestic violence.

“She met a young boy who didn’t want to attend his therapy session. His sessions hadn’t been going well as he was unwilling to speak to our counselor. In a moment of inspiration, I asked him if Penny could have his counseling session,” said Penny’s owner Grace Coleman, executive director of Crisis Center North (CCN) in Pittsburgh, PA.

“She met a young boy who didn’t want to attend his therapy session. His sessions hadn’t been going well as he was unwilling to speak to our counselor. In a moment of inspiration, I asked him if Penny could have his counseling session,” said Penny’s owner Grace Coleman, executive director of Crisis Center North (CCN) in Pittsburgh, PA.

“I explained to the boy that she really needed to go, but I didn’t have time to take her. Would he take her for me? He enthusiastically responded ‘Yes,’ and off the two went. After the session, the young boy returned Penny to me. His counselor

then explained that they had covered more ground in that one session than they had in the last six months. The counselor told me that I need to ‘do something’ with this dog.”

What Coleman did was develop a program in which therapy dogs support and comfort people recovering from domestic violence.

While Penny was the first employee of PAWS for Empowerment, she since has been joined by two other dogs. Established in 2011, the program’s canine advocates accompany clients to counseling, court and more.

“We allow our canines to bring their own unique qualities to the work,” Coleman said. “They never cease to amaze us as they expand their own job descriptions in ways we often don’t anticipate.”

What makes Penny exceptional at the work is “that she was born to do it,” she said.

The now 14-year-old dog possesses an ability to sense what clients are feeling and give them what they need to work through those emotions. Penny diagnoses anxiety versus depression and uses a distinct “tell” when she senses either.

For anxiety, she leaves distance between herself and a client but orients her body to the client while establishing eye

contact. For depression, she touches a client by laying her head on their knees or across their feet.

“She has never been wrong in a diagnosis,” Coleman said.

One day, Penny accompanied a new client into a counseling session. She suddenly dropped to her belly and crawled slowly towards the person. The client fell to the ground and held Penny.

“The client had been suicidal that day and reached out to us for services. Penny sensed this even before the counselor knew and attempted to make herself as small as possible,” Coleman said. “Penny never repeated that behavior again. Much of what she did in her work we didn’t teach her, and I suppose that is what makes her truly exceptional.”

Penny did not start out life as a future hero. She was born on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, and the farmer turned her and her littermates into a shelter when they were just a few weeks old.

“When I saw the pups at the shelter, Penny was on the very bottom of the pile, snuggled up with her brothers and sister,” Coleman said. “I wasn’t planning on adopting a dog that day, and, while I realize this sounds ridiculous, when I held her and looked into her eyes, I knew we had work to do together. I just wasn’t aware of what it was until several years later.”

Even though Penny possessed natural aptitude for therapy work, she went through training and professional certification, as do all the canine staff of PAWS for Empowerment.

Penny passed the test of Therapy Dogs International (TDI) and also received public access certification in fall 2010.

At age 14, Penny has semi-retired, but “insists on going to work and wants to go every day,” Coleman said. Her work has transitioned to public appearances and YouTube videos during the Pandemic to assist victims with stress management. Today, her co-workers Ari, a rescue dog from the same shelter, and Rune, a Labrador Retriever, take care of the counseling and court work.

But Penny’s contributions have made an everlasting impact.

“Penny was the first shelter dog in Pennsylvania to serve victims of domestic violence, and she transformed the field of victim services,” Coleman said.

In 2014, her story was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of Victims of Crime Act funding. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency named PAWS for Empowerment as one of the state’s most innovative practices in victim services. In 2017, the program received a Governor’s Award as Program of the Year. And in 2021, Penny won Honorable Mention honors in the AKC Awards for Canine Excellence.

“Because of Penny, other victim service agencies are utilizing canines in the field,” Coleman said. “To me, that is her greatest legacy.”

Learn more about PAWS for Empowerment and Crisis Center North: https://www.crisiscenternorth.org/services/paws-for-empowerment