Police Therapy Dogs Anna And Gizmo Venture Into Greenfield

GREENFIELD, WI — Two golden doodles, comfort dogs from the Greenfield Police Department, are visiting the Greenfield Farmers Market on Sunday.

The dogs are named Gizmo and Anna. The Greenfield Police Department got the dogs last March, and are training them to soon become nationally certified therapy dogs.

Gizmo and Anna are part of a new recent initiative by the department, Captain Scott Zienkiewicz told Patch.

"We saw the way policing has gone, and we felt we need to continue outreach and create new resources," Zienkiewicz said. "The attitude of officers' just changed when we got them as puppies."

The market visit is one of the first forays into public events for the two dogs. They were bought and trained by the department in March of 2020, but because of the pandemic, community outreach events haven't been totally possible, according to Zienkiewicz.

The two dogs have been used the most at the school districts in Greenfield. Gizmo works at Whitnall High School and Anna works at Greenfield High School. They each work with a liaison officer in the schools.

Students are able to reach out when they may be having a bad day and could benefit from the comfort an animal can bring, according to Zienkiewicz.

The dogs can serve as support for traumatic incidents. Zienkiewicz said the department recently helped comfort a survivor of sexual assault with the dogs. He said the work is still in development, but the dogs could soon be used more often for similar scenarios.

Domestic disputes that involve children and other events are other examples of the possibilities, Zienkiewicz said.

The two young pups will be making an appearance Sunday at the Farmers Market. It will run 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday at 5151 West Layton Avenue. It's also Community Hero Day at the market.

Alongside the two therapy dogs, which are official K-9 officers in the department, firefighters, police, and their many vehicles, will be on display for families to learn more about them and celebrate them for Community Hero Day

Related: Meet Firefighters At 'Community Hero Day' In Greenfield

Both Anna and Gizmo were born on March 27, 2020, according to the Greenfield Police Department K-9 Unit webpage.

K-9 Unit and therapy dog Gizmo at his yearly vet check-up.

Both Gizmo and Anna are from Copperstone Farms Kennels in central Wisconsin, their webpage said. They started training as a puppy with the Greenfield Police Department when they were about 8 weeks old.

Gizmo works with his handler out of Whitnall High School where he provides community support and comfort, the Greenfield K-9 Unit webpage said.

Anna works with the department's D.A.R.E program and Greenfield High School. She also provides support to the community, the webpage said.

K-9 Unit and therapy dog Anna at the House of Harley.

Anna and Gizmo regularly visit area events. The two are part of a four-dog K-9 force that the Greenfield Police Department maintains, according to the Greenfield Police website.

What else is at the market on Sunday?

Besides Community Hero Day, there will be plenty of the usual's at the market, and a couple other unique booths to check out:

Live music from Gary Ricchio will provide the tunes for this weeks market. Ricchio is a professional disc jockey and musician with 40 years of experience, according to his website.

WOW Meatless Meatballs can also be found at the market. The company offers "one-of-a-kind" vegetarian meatballs made in Milwaukee. WOW stands for "with oats and walnuts," the two main ingredients in the meatballs, according to WOW Meatless Meatball's website.

Mr. Dye's Pies will be at this week's market. The longstanding Milwaukee pie maker offers classic pies of all types.

See more about this week's market at the official vendor list.