[music playing] Kelly:   Coming up on this episode of The Paw Report,  they may be small in stature, but they bring   a large amount of laughter, love, and licks  to the Eastern Illinois University Police   Department.

Police Chief, Marisol Gamboa, along  with one of the department's newest officers,   will join me on set to talk about the  pet therapy program.

Stay with us.

[music playing] Male voice:   It's almost impossible to imagine life without  internet today.

It keeps us connected to work,   school and loved ones no matter where they are.

Fidium fiber internet now serves over a million   locations providing reliable, consistent service  that keeps these connections strong.

From vibrant   cities to quiet rural areas, fiber broadband is a  key driver of economic growth.

Fidium is dedicated   to supporting communities and enhancing lives  through this essential technology.

Learn more   at Fidiumfiber.com.

Olivia:   At Tender Touch Grooming, we groom dogs of all  sizes and breeds tenderly.

Our team pampers your   furry friend with care, because every pet deserves  a tender touch.

Appointments are available via   text at (217) 317-9489.

Rameen:   The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King,  America's farm and home store, livestock feed,   farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You  can find your store and more information   regarding Rural King at ruralking.com.

Rob:   Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter  of The Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating   Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk  Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center,   authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Kelly:   Thanks for joining us for this episode of The Paw  Report, and we have a lively episode planned for   you today.

We welcome to The Paw Report set, the  Eastern Illinois Police Chief, Marisol Gamboa,   and her sidekick, Penny, today.

Thank you both  for joining us today.

Thank you for coming along,   Penny.

And she's had her cup of coffee this  morning, so she's wound tight.

Thank you.

It's   a pleasure to meet you.

And a first-time guest to  The Paw Report.

We're delighted to have you.

Well,   let's start with your journey in law enforcement  and maybe your journey also to Eastern Illinois   University, Chief.

Marisol:   Okay.

All right.

So I started law enforcement  back in 2002.

So I've been in law enforcement   for about 23 years, and my experience has been in  Texas.

The last 2.5 years have been here in the   state of Illinois.

So I was part of a search that  the university started.

They started looking for   the next chief of police back in 2001, late 2001,  and I was one of the candidates that interviewed,   and here I am 2.5 years later.

Kelly:   So is law enforcement in your family?

Marisol:   Now it is.

I kind of kick-started that career  path for the rest of my family.

Out of eight,   I'm the third oldest, and so after that, my  sister became a police officer.

My husband   was a police officer, he's retired now.

And then  I have two other brothers in law enforcement, and   then on my husband's side, they have about five  brothers that are in law enforcement in Texas.

Kelly: Well, thank you for your service-   Marisol: Thank you.

Kelly: And it's a pleasure having   you here in Charleston.

Penny has a story as well.

She's chilling right now, which is probably a good   thing.

Tell us the backstory on Penny.

Marisol:   So Penny comes from Florida.

So she is a rescue  out of Florida.

She comes from Broward County   Sheriff's Department.

So they take strays in  and they kind of monitor them to see what their   temperament is like before they decide to move  them into their program, which is, first, it   starts with a comfort dog program, which is about  eight weeks long.

And then after the eight-week   program, if the rescue successfully passes  those eight weeks, they get selected for the   law enforcement multi-discipline crimes against  persons certification, and she made it past that   as well.

So she's originally from Florida.

Kelly:   So how did she make her way to Charleston?

I  know that the department has not always had a   therapy dog.

You come into town, you're the new  chief, and somebody approached you about maybe   starting something.

Marisol:   So we got started with that as an idea.

So Dr. Ann  Flaherty had mentioned a law enforcement therapy   dog, and she had heard about therapy dogs and  the benefits of having a therapy dog from U of I,   because U of I has about, I'm going to  say about four or five therapy dogs.

From there, I met with the chief, Chief Alice  Cary, at the time, and she showed me her dog   and we walked around campus, and I noticed the  difference how the community interacted with her,   students were just approaching her really just  to talk to the dog or pet her dog.

And it started   other conversations from there, which was, to me,  it's a great benefit to have the community just   walk up to you and ask you questions, and interact  with you in a positive manner.

So after that, she   mentioned that Paws and Stripes was a free program  in Florida, and you can take your own dog or they   will pair you with a rescue.

So I contacted Paws  and Stripes and they sent me the brochure over and   the instructions as far as what we needed to do  in order to have our own therapy dog on campus.

Kelly: Was it a hard sell?

I mean,   were you kind of skeptical at first?

Marisol:   I was skeptical at first, and I think  the reason why is because I've never   seen a therapy dog in law enforcement before.

You typically see your drug sniffing dogs.

Kelly: The K9s, yeah.

Marisol: Your bomb detection dogs.

And so Penny's   no different, she has a different set of skills.

She's a therapy dog.

She provides comfort to   people that need it.

Kelly:   So once you kind of saw the dogs in action,  you were like, we need to kind of invest in   this.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the  Paws and Stripes program?

So you got a brochure,   but I'm sure you did some homework on this to  learn a little bit more on the training and how   dogs are picked, and that sort of thing.

Marisol:   So part of that is doing an assessment to make  sure that she has the right temperament, that the   rescue dog has the right temperament.

They have to  be very approachable, they have to be very loving,   they have to be friendly and allow people just  to come up to them and pet them.

So they go   through the basic obedience class, that's for  the eight-week comfort dog program, teaching   them to sit, heel, down, come or leave it, and  so she passed all that.

That was about eight   weeks that she went through that training, and she  was paired with an inmate.

So it's a rescue dog,   and they pair them with an inmate that they trust  and they both learn a new skill.

The inmate's   learning a skill as far as how to train a dog  and Penny's learning how to become a comfort dog,   a therapy dog.

So I thought that was fascinating.

And then after that, then I go in, whoever the   handler is going to be goes in and spends about  40 hours a week long with that dog and just learns   the laws of having a law enforcement therapy  dog, because they don't fall into a comfort dog   and they don't fall into a service dog.

They're  right in the middle.

So she's not a service dog,   but she's not a comfort dog either.

She's  a police officer, but she's a therapy dog.

Kelly: So were you the one that said, sign me up?

Marisol: I did.

I volunteered.

I volunteered   to take on that responsibility, because it  is a lot of responsibility to have a dog,   bring them into your home, and then take care  of them and provide that care, feeding them,   bathing them, making sure that they go to the  doctors for their vaccines or regular checkups,   and then bringing them to work every day with me  and then taking her home with me.

So we're pretty   much, we're never apart.

Kelly:   I mean, other officers a little skeptical  about this too, kind of like you?

Marisol: I think at first they were,   but now I've noticed that the officers do engage  with her and she has a personality.

So as far-   Kelly: She does.

Marisol: She goes from 0 to 100.

Kelly: Over off set Susan right now.

You   said she's multi-discipline, so can you explain  that again?

Can you kind of go through what that   means?

Because not all dogs are like that.

Marisol:   So multi-discipline means that she can function  as an animal that provides comfort to victims of   crime, crimes of a person.

So for example, sexual  assaults, domestic violence, dating violence,   stalking.

So a victim that has been exposed  to that and has traumatized them so much,   and they just need some help to tell their story,  that's where a therapy dog comes in.

That dog just   coming into the room comforts them, and is able to  talk to the officer and tell them what occurred,   or at least try to explain to the best of their  ability to tell us what happened so we can have   a successful investigation.

Kelly:   Is she called into court?

In other instances where  I've met with officers that have therapy dogs,   sometimes their services are used  in court with younger children.

Marisol: Crimes against children.

Kelly: Yeah, crimes against children, and it eases them-   Marisol: It does.

Kelly: Before maybe they're called to   testify or something of that nature.

Marisol:   Yes, and that's part of her training.

She has not  been called out to do that yet, and I hope that   she does, because I mean, that's what she was  trained for and that's the continuous training   that we have.

I try to train with her every day,  15 minutes a day on something, but she's been   trained to provide that service for children.

Kelly:   How common is it for Penny to be used here  at Eastern Illinois University on campus?

Is   it something that she does frequently or maybe  you could talk about some memorable events or   situations that she's been involved in?

Marisol:   So she's been called out twice on campus.

She's  been deployed twice, once for a student that was   having anxiety, and so Penny helped with that.

She did exactly what she's doing right now,   she just laid at her feet and the student  was just petting her, and it did calm her.

It calmed her down to where she could get up  and continue with her day.

Then the second one   was with a staff member on campus.

So it's same  things, just having a bad day or a rough day,   and they just needed some comforting.

Kelly:   But she also travels to different things as well.

Somebody mentioned seeing her at graduation.

Marisol: She does.

Kelly: So she does other events as well?

Marisol: She does.

So aside from being deployed twice,   she's frequently out in the community.

So we  go through the areas of campus where a lot of   our students are at, for example, the union.

So we  walk through Java or the bookstore, or we go up to   the bridge lounge, and we just walk through there.

I think the most interaction that she's had was   during midterms or finals, because the students  are busy studying and they're so stressed out,   but when they see Penny come in, they kind  of step away from that laptop or the notes,   or the book that they're reading, and decompress  with her a little bit by petting her, just her   running around, and they're just enjoying that  time with her.

So that's some other events that   we take her to.

We also have events on campus  that are set up for therapy sessions for Penny   and students too.

And we'll pick a location and  we'll take her there, and the students can just   show up and interact with her.

Kelly:   What is the atmosphere like around the office?

Penny isn't the only dog, so we'll talk about   the other dog briefly here too.

But what is the  atmosphere like?

I mean, I would think being   able to come to work with a sidekick like Penny is  fun, but it also might loosen up other officers.

Marisol: I think it does.

Kelly: And they have stressful situations,   you have have a very stressful job.

Marisol:   They do.

Kelly:   And does it help?

Marisol:   I think it does.

I've seen the officers that do  engage with her after being out on the street   or driving around for some time, or walking on  campus, they come inside and they're petting her,   and you can see how they're engaged with  her and it calms them down.

But yeah,   I have seen my officers interact with her.

The  day to day with Penny and Koji there first,   they're still trying to build their relationship,  because Koji's a personal dog and then Penny's,   she's not my personal dog, but she's...  Having two dogs in the office, they have   to build that relationship together.

And Koji  is about this big, so he might have that-   Kelly: A little stature.

A big presence, right.

Marisol: Penny, she doesn't respond   to that.

She's so chill that she just watches him  and then she just walks away.

So she's very calm.

Now she does start hounding whenever she wants to  leave the office, because she gets bored or she's   just restless and she wants to walk around.

But in  the mornings, she gets her zoomies in the office,   she's running down the hall, makes her circles.

Kelly:   She's running circles in here.

Marisol:   Yeah, she's just greeting everybody  in the morning, so it's nice.

Kelly: Speaking of greeting everybody in   the morning, take me through a typical day.

So you  get up in the morning and then you get to work,   and then what's it like?

Marisol:   So we get to work and I set her up on her couch.

She has a little couch that she sits on and she   knows that it's time to spray her down and brush  her, so get her ready for the student presence so   she can go out and about.

Her day's pretty easy.

She lays there and sleeps for hours until she gets   bored, and then we take her out for walks.

But  that's pretty much our typical day.

When it's   something that I'm focused with Penny, we come  in, we get her all groomed up and ready to go,   and she'll start walking around the office and  engaging with the officers.

She'll go stop by   Koji's office a little bit, get him  wound up, and then she walks away.

Kelly: What makes a good relationship   between an officer and a therapy dog?

Did you know  instantly when you met her?

Because you don't know   going into Paws and Stripes if you're going to  get a Labrador Retriever or if you're going to   get a Chihuahua, you don't know.

And maybe in your  mind you're thinking, oh, I really wish I get a   retriever or kind of a bigger dog.

Tell me about  that process going into it and then what makes the   good relationship between you two?

Marisol:   So the process with that, when I submitted  my application for Paws and Stripes,   I asked for a small dog.

I've always had small  pets, so I've never had a medium size or a large   size like Penny.

And she says, the smallest  I can give you is a medium dog that we have   here.

I didn't even know what she was going to be  yet, if it was going to be a female or a male, or   what breed.

So it was whenever I walked in, it's  like, oh man, she's a big dog.

But I feel like,   and even the director at Paws and Stripes said  that it was almost like an instant bond between me   and Penny.

The day that we met, it was almost an  instant bond with us, and we got along very well.

What was your...

I'm sorry, what was your... Kelly:   Just what makes a good... Well, obviously  you two have a very strong bond, but what   really makes the two of you...

I don't know  if we even said she's a Beagle Foxhound.

Marisol: She's a Beagle   Foxhound mix.

And I think what makes us work is  just being patient with each other, her being   patient with me, because I'm learning how to  be a handler, and me being patient with her,   because I'm not used to having a  medium-sized dog.

Come on, come here.

Kelly: Oh, she's going to get a treat.

Marisol: No, leave your bandana alone.

Here you go.

Kelly: She's not interested in this   bandana that she's wearing.

Marisol:   She doesn't like it.

Kelly:   She got all pretty for the interview  and she's ready for it to...   Marisol: There you go.

Kelly: Now, you mentioned early in the interview,   so she's not your personal pet.

Marisol:   She's not.

Kelly:   And I think that's something that,  me included, that people can get   confused about.

She's a working dog.

So  tell us the difference between that.

Marisol: So to me, the difference is   that I can't engage with her the same way that I  would with my Chihuahuas, because I have two small   chihuahuas.

So I play with them and I have them on  my lap, and I treat them just like my pet.

Yeah,   just like babies.

Penny, I can't treat  her like a baby.

She's a working dog.

She needs to know that she's working and that's  what her job is to do at that time.

She doesn't   get much playtime as far as being outside.

Her  schedule is very structured.

She knows that she   gets up about 8 o'clock and she goes outside,  and it's time to... Come here.

Sit.

Good, sit.

And it's time for her to get ready for the day.

Kelly:   And you said that you do work with her every day?

Marisol:   I do.

Kelly:   What does that involve?

Marisol:   So that involves is just continue to hone  her skills, her sit, stay, come, leave it,   and then I'm working on her right now with being  off leash.

So some of the training sessions that   I incorporate into my day, because it's a  busy day, especially when the fall semester   or spring semester are in session.

So I take her  to department meetings and she has to learn if I   tell her to stay, she's going to have to stay  and not be running around.

We've taken her to   the local elementary schools to train just  to allow people or students, small children,   to engage with her and allowing them to pet her.

So that's part of her training.

So the 15 minutes   is just to continue working on her skills.

And  like I said, now we're working on being off leash.

So if I drop her leash and I tell her to stay  when we're outside, then she cannot just take   off and run around.

Kelly:   How old is she?

Marisol:   She is three years old now.

Kelly:   So she might still have a little pup in her.

Marisol:   She does.

Kelly:   She's got a lot of vinegar in her, but  she still has a little pup in her.

Marisol: She does.

Kelly: You mentioned Koji,   so let's talk... Koji is not with you today.

Marisol:   No.

Kelly:   But I think we ought to give Koji some  love as well.

Talk about Officer Koji,   his role at the department, his handler.

What  can you tell us about...

It's a male dog?

Marisol: It's a male,   yeah.

So Koji, we noticed the difference with  having a therapy dog on campus.

So we also   noticed that some students are scared of bigger  dogs or might be reluctant to engage with Penny,   because she looks like a bigger dog.

So we decided  to move forward with a smaller dog.

And Sergeant   Andrea Beals, who has been with the university  over 20 years, had a small...

He's a little black   lapdog.

He's really cute.

We decided to send both  of them to the therapy dog program just to meet   the needs of the community and make sure that if  a student doesn't want to be around a larger dog,   we have a smaller dog as an option to help.

So  he went through the same training as Penny did.

Kelly: Paws and Stripes.

Marisol: Paws and Stripes.

So he's a certified   law enforcement therapy dog.

Kelly:   What advice could you give to another  department?

Maybe there's an officer out   there watching this episode that you could  say to them is, I know I was skeptical too,   but here's one reason why you ought to think  about getting a dog from this program.

Marisol: I would say that the program is free,   knowing that the program is free, that you're  getting a rescue, so you're helping out a rescue,   and you're bringing an animal to the community  and helping your community as well.

So you're   going to bridge that gap with your community,  because there's a lot of people out there that   are animal lovers.

And the students will approach  you, or even if it's in a city, they'll approach   you and they'll just start having a conversation  with you, and getting to know you and your pet,   or not your pet, you and your- Kelly:   Yeah, your officer.

Marisol:   And I know that we've seen a big difference.

So that's what I would tell them,   that if you're interested in that, I  would certainly move forward with it.

Kelly: And as far as affording a dog,   I mean, like you said, to get the dog,  it's actually very inexpensive.

I mean,   you're talking travel to go.

Marisol:   So with Paws and Stripes, the training itself is  free.

You do have to pay to the hotel and airfare,   and any hourly wages, of course, unless you're  a salary, but then maintaining that program.

So   the way we've maintained that, the therapy dog  program, is by the help of Dr. Eric Davidson,   who assisted us with a mental health grant,  and that's how we're able to pay for any   expenses that Penny and Koji might have, like  vet bills, food, grooming, leashes, a scarf-   A bandana that she's chewing on right now.

Kelly:   Oh, Penny.

Yeah.

I mean, and there may  be people out there that have questions,   questions like money could be spent somewhere else  as opposed to spending that money on a dog.

Your   response to that is?

Marisol:   I would say with that, if there's not a mental  health grant, I think it's very important to   invest in the therapy dog program, because you're  helping victims and you're helping the officers   investigate the case by providing an animal that's  going to comfort the victim to be able to tell his   or her story.

So I feel that it's very important  to have a therapy dog program within the police   department.

Kelly:   Chief Gamboa, we have just a couple of minutes  left, so as we wrap up our interview today,   sum everything up.

What is your favorite part  about having Officer Penny with you?

What you have   seen she has, and Koji too, has provided to the  campus community?

What gives you the most joy?

Marisol: So there's never a dull moment with Penny.

Kelly: Yes, we got a sampling.

Marisol: That's just a sample.

She's very entertaining.

I think what I take away  from it, it's very rewarding to see the difference   in how our community engages with our officers  and how I feel like we're more approachable.

Our officers are fantastic.

I mean, they're  all here for the right reasons.

And all our   students come from different parts of the state  of Illinois and maybe from outside of the state,   and they have different experiences with law  enforcement.

Having Penny and having Koji   here kind of gets them to understand that we're  here for them.

They're not a drug-sniffing dog,   which they're fantastic too.

I wish we could  have one.

We just can't afford that right now,   or a bomb-detection dog.

She's a therapy dog,  specific care for our students to help comfort   them, to reduce anxiety, to make them feel  more comfortable being around law enforcement.

Kelly: A great way to sum it up.

And it's been a   pleasure.

This is the first time, as I mentioned,  that you've joined us on The Paw Report.

It's a   pleasure having you here on campus and also for  joining our show today, and Penny too.

She's   sacked out again, so she got her little burst of  energy in, and now she's over there resting beside   the camera.

So we appreciate your time.

Marisol:   Thank you.

Kelly:   Thanks for spending it with us.

And of course, we  appreciate you, our viewers.

Come here, Penny.

We   appreciate you, our viewers of The Paw Report.

Our  paws just coming in our set now.

Until next time,   we'll see you then.

Thanks, Penny.

Rob:   Dave's Decorating Center is a proud supporter  of The Paw Report on WEIU.

Dave's Decorating   Center features the Mohawk Smartstrand Silk  Forever Clean carpet.

Dave's Decorating Center,   authorized Mohawk color center in Charleston.

Rameen:   The Paw Report on WEIU is supported by Rural King,  America's farm and home store, livestock feed,   farm equipment, pet supplies and more.

You can  find your store and more information regarding   Rural King at ruralking.com.

Olivia:   At Tender Touch Grooming, we groom dogs of all  sizes and breeds tenderly.

Our team pampers your   furry friend with care, because every pet deserves  a tender touch.

Appointments are available via   text at (217) 317-9489.

Male voice:   It's almost impossible to imagine life without  internet today.

It keeps us connected to work,   school and loved ones no matter where they are.

Fidium fiber internet now serves over a million   locations providing reliable, consistent service  that keeps these connections strong.

From vibrant   cities to quiet rural areas, fiber broadband is a  key driver of economic growth.

Fidium is dedicated   to supporting communities and enhancing  lives through this essential technology.

Learn more at Fidiumfiber.com.

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