Former Hanford police therapy dogs to continue serving the community

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Emotional support for people in Hanford will come from two therapy dogs that have now been reassigned to a local nonprofit.

That's after the Hanford police Department ended their program.

"We know the dogs can be successful, they have amazing personalities and we didn't want that to go to waste, and there are a lot of community resources that went into that as well, and we decided 'nope, they can become part of our pack," mentioned Perla Trejo, who co-founded HAPPI, or Hands and Paws Prevail, with Macarena Etcheberry.

Their non-profit HAPPI is on a mission to give Penny and Bebe a new shot at serving the community.

The labradoodle and goldendoodle duo are on their way to a new assignment.

The two therapy dogs were a part of the Hanford Police Department for two years.

The department ended the program due to financial reasons.

Now, HAPPI is taking on the remaining one-thousand dollars worth of training.

"But that includes lifelong training that includes your certification every year and whatever needs your department has. If you need a dog to go work in a courtroom, that's gonna be different than a dog going to a school," explained Perla.

Therapy dog training can cost between $8,000 to $10,000.

Penny and Bebe, who stay with their handlers, should complete training in May.

After that they will serve the community.

Penny and Bebe's next assignment is providing therapy to locals including for patients at Adventist Health.

Macarena is a Psychologist, and co-founder of HAPPI.

She explains, facility dogs, and even pets can help turn a frown upside down.

"It lowers your stress level, your anxiety and also brings you joy and makes you happy. But these dogs that are trained to work in a facility with these people are exposed to daily trauma," said Macarena.

For Perla, she knows first hand the importance of a facility dog.

"Prior to HAPPI I got diamond in 2018, I am actually a police officer I work for the county for many years and i did a lot of child abuse investigations and i saw first hand what therapy dogs do not only for the community we work with but as a handler myself as well," mentioned Perla.

The growing organization is based on community service, and prides themselves on providing emotional support to the community.

They say their dogs help them promote mental health through the Power of Paws.

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