John Koizim, owner, with Penny the therapy dog.
By Samantha Russell
WESTPORT — Penny, a therapy dog, for several months has been working to boost the well-being of victims of physical and mental distress at the Positive Directions Center for Prevention and Counseling
The agency recently hosted its first group meeting with Penny at its offices, 90 Post Road West. Clients and others had an opportunity to meet Penny, ask questions and learn the benefits of companionship offered by a certified therapy dog.
Penny is a Vizsla, a breed originally from Hungary with a temperament that is soothing and supportive, according to John Koizim, her owner.
"She's affectionate, she's a sweet animal," he said.
Koizim is certified to work with Penny by a national organization, and the pair volunteers at Positive Directions. Koizim has been working with Vanessa Wilson, the agency's executive director, for two years to make the therapy dog program a reality, he said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Koizim worked with Penny as a therapy dog at Norwalk Hospital and two nursing homes, but the sudden halt to in-person services disrupted that work. Koizim resumed therapy work with Penny in 2022.
The dog is trained to behave appropriately in various settings, Koizim said, and they work together to comfort and calm patients. Through one-on-one and group sessions, the dog's presence can help ground patients, according to Wilson, and sometimes make them more inclined to open discussion.
"The contribution is really adding another offering for our clients that we feel is directly a benefit to our clientele's health," Wilson said. "Attending to the whole person" is a goal important to Positive Directions, and Penny's work increases the agency's ability to achieve that goal, she said.
When Koizim puts the service vest on Penny, she knows it is time for work, her owner said. He believes that she understands the goal of her work, which is "to make people happy."
There is a connection between animals and mental wellness that therapists understand, Wilson said.
"Penny has brought, I want to say, just so much excitement to the office and our team" over the past three months that the pair has been there, Wilson said. "It really introduced a new way to connect with our clients … it kind of creates this exciting and nice environment for therapy to take place."
Although the concept of animal therapy can appear confusing, Wilson said, it's actually simple: "The therapy is being with the animal."
Positive Directions clients interested in spending time with Penny can attend a group session or tell their therapist that they'd like to visit with the dog individually, Wilson said. Although a regular schedule for Penny's visits to Positive Directions has not been set, the office aims to bring Penny in during high-traffic times.
Wilson also noted that all of the group sessions with Penny are free of charge, supporting the organization's mission to be accessible and affordable for everyone.
In their journey to promote animal therapy, Koizim and Penny have encountered wonderful experiences, he said. Nurses have relayed that typically unresponsive patients willingly engage with Penny, or that Penny helps light faces in hospices.
These experiences can be highly emotional, he added.
Koizim thinks the therapy mission that he shares with Penny improves the lives of patients and of their families and the staff as well, a benefit that is just as important, he said. It takes time, and can be emotionally stressful, but in the end is very rewarding, he said.
Samantha Russell is a Westport Journal intern.
