'He makes everybody smile': How Stanley the therapy dog has become De Pere Fire Rescue's pride, joy

DE PERE — If it has happened once, it has happened ... let’s just say enough times that De Pere Fire Rescue Chief Alan Matzke is getting used to it.

First, the initial twinge of excitement when employees in City Hall see his head come through the door. Then, the visible disappointment once he rounds the counter and it’s evident there’s not 40 pounds of adorable, lovable dog with him.

No Stanley? It’s like somebody let the air out of a balloon.

“It’s pretty hard on the ego,” Matzke joked.

It has been nearly a year since the Australian labradoodle joined De Pere Fire Rescue as a 9-week-old puppy just beginning his therapy dog training in April. Life inside the complex that houses the fire and police departments and city offices has never been the same.

Stanley celebrated his first birthday on Feb. 9 by making the rounds to share dog bone-shaped people cookies baked just for the occasion by an employee’s spouse. He wore a party hat and got to sit on the mayor’s lap.

He received his Canine Good Citizen certification in October and completed his training through Therapy Dogs United Inc. last week. Even before he graduated, it was clear he had mastered his most endearing skill: brightening people’s days.

“He makes everybody smile. It’s awesome,” said Lea Taylor, the De Pere Fire Rescue administrative assistant who is his primary handler and gets to take him home with her each night. Matzke is his secondary handler.

Between the two of them, they’ve seen firsthand the impact he has had inside the building and out. He’s become the face of the department — just try to find a cuter one — and De Pere’s resident rock star.

“Everywhere we go, it is just ‘Stanley!’" Taylor said. “And if I go somewhere without him, it’s ‘Where’s Stanley?’”

She has had people on foot and in cars stop to pet him or grab a photo when she takes him for a walk around the block. Bicyclists in Voyageur Park have recognized him. She's been called "Stanley's mom" in T.J. Maxx. Matzke sometimes gets “That’s the Stanley?” when he has him out in public.

“He’s quite the celebrity when he’s out and about,” he said.

Last fall’s fire department open house drew its biggest crowd ever, thanks to, you guessed it, Stanley. As many as 2,500 people showed up, some just to see him. There was a line of people waiting to pet that curly coat of his.

He accompanied firefighters when they visited more than 800 students last year for their annual fire prevention safety talks, dropping in on sometimes four classes a day and teaching his co-workers a thing or two about the art of timing.

“We learned very quickly to bring Stanley at the end, due to the fact that all (the kids) cared about was him,” Taylor said. “He kind of stole the show.”

He’s been to nursing homes, National Night Out and De Pere Parks, Recreation & Forestry’s fundraiser beer gardens at Voyageur Park. It’s emotional for Taylor to talk about what happened a few weeks ago when she took him to Aurora BayCare for visits that included the oncology unit where cancer patients were receiving chemotherapy.

“I don’t know if it was more rewarding for him or for me,” she said. “Every time we went, there was at least one patient that was brought to tears. They couldn’t say how thankful they were and how much that meant to them that we brought him there. It really tugged at the heart.”

Stanley has an office, his own turnout gear and a brother with Hobart-Lawrence Police Department

Stanley’s story starts well before he first bounded down the halls as a puppy.

It was Christmas Eve 2021 when Tammy Gossen went into emergency labor at her De Pere home. She gave birth to daughter Ainsley by the light of the family’s Christmas tree. A team of firefighters, police and paramedics responded to the call and helped get mom and baby to the hospital.

Gossen and her family were so grateful for the swift response and assistance that she organized fundraising effort to gift De Pere Fire Rescue a therapy dog as a thank you. The community stepped up with $10,000 in donations to make it happen.

On April 15, 2023, Stanley arrived from Blueberry Cottage Labradoodles, a Wisconsin breeder known for providing law enforcement therapy dogs. He comes from a big family; a litter of 11. His equally handsome brother, Arlo, is at Hobart-Lawrence Police Department (the two trained together), and he has a cousin in Two Rivers.

While Stanley is owned by the city of De Pere, he’s not funded by it. He’s paid for entirely through donations. Last year, the department sold stuffed animal likenesses of Stanley, complete with fire gear, for $20, with proceeds helping to cover the cost of his training, veterinarian bills and food. Soon they’ll unveil Stanley T-shirts designed by firefighter/paramedic Ben Puetz that play off the “Smoke detectors save lives” message with “Therapy dogs save lives.”

If the “Beware of Dog Kisses” sign hanging outside Taylor's door doesn’t it give away, it's quickly evident once you step inside that she and Stanley share an office. A menagerie of stuffed animal toys are strewn about. A Christmas card photo from the Gossen family is on display nearby, along with his official ID.

He headquarters from a cushy bed, where he can see everybody who walks in. It’s also within handy greeting distance of the Amazon and UPS drivers.

“He knows when he’s here that he’s calm, he’s reserved,” Matzke said. “He doesn’t race up to you. He doesn’t jump up on you. He just comes up to you naturally. He just kind of checks in with everybody.”

Out in the hall, a wall hook that spells out “Woof” has his therapy dog in training vest, his turnout gear personalized with his name and a leash. In a nearby glass wall case filled with individual photographs of the department’s 30 full-time and 20 part-time staff members by shift, there’s Stanley's shaggy mug.

“He’s one of us,” Taylor said.

As a therapy dog, he helps first responders to deal with the stress of the hard calls

His primary duty is camaraderie within the department and easing the stress of the first responders.

“We deal with people when they’re having their worst day, so often times it impacts you. This is a way to just kind of be a little bit more carefree,” Matzke said. “If you come back from an event that was maybe high stress or just unsightly or difficult to deal with, it offers a distraction.”

That might mean sinking into a recliner and petting Stanley, throwing a tennis ball (his favorite toy) for him down the hallway, taking him for a walk outside or scooping up the big, furry, hypoallergenic lug and giving him a hug. It's not just anybody who lets their co-workers carry them around, but Stanley loves it.

Sometimes he’s just a calming presence in a chaotic world. Other times he’s much-needed comic relief. He has a knack for knowing when somebody could use a good nuzzle.

“It brings a lot more joy to the firehouse having him here and having him run around. A lot of laughter. He does funny things sometimes. It takes our minds off of going on those real serious calls,” said battalion Chief Brett Jansen.

“For us, we never really forget things. It doesn’t just go away, but going back to something we know we can find enjoyment in to take our mind off of it, to let the mind ease a little bit, it stops the reaction of bad or negative thoughts. It puts a lot of positivity in your mind. ‘Hey, Stanley is here. Everything is going to be OK.’ ... Instead of trying to deal with it on your own, you’ve got him.”

It has been a process for his De Pere Fire Rescue co-workers to get to know Stanley, Matzke said. Some have dogs at home, so their bond with Stanley was immediate. For others who were a little more skeptical, it was a gradual warming up.

In a sure sign that he’s truly one of the crew, he has been given nicknames. The breeder named him after Stanley Hudson in “The Office,” but his fire station buddies sometimes call him “Stanimal” or “Stan the Man.”

Stanley is on the job Monday through Friday every week. Just like with people, it’s important therapy dogs have a work-life balance. When he’s off the clock and at home with Taylor, he’s a completely different dog, chasing other dogs and barking.

“He’s a goofball when he’s out of here,” Matzke said. “When he’s here, this is work time.”

He is also crucial to helping promote fire education and safety. His Fetch’n Facts with Stanley posts on the department’s Facebook page show him with tips about candles, radon and Christmas lights, sometimes delivered as if Stanley was doing the talking. It's a way to take a sometimes “generically dry message” and rebrand it in a way that resonates with residents, Matzke said.

While Stanley doesn’t accompany firefighters on calls, he is available if a particular situation warrants it, such as bringing comfort to young children at a scene.

'We all want to take him home': His visits to De Pere City Hall are a favorite

Stanley graciously spreads himself around by making regular visits to all the city employees.

“He knows now who in the city has treats for him, so he goes right to them first, and then works them over with those sad eyes like nobody ever feeds him,” Matzke said. “He’s got that pretty much down.”

He has his favorites. People, that is. He’s not fussy about the treats.

“You’re going to find out very quickly,” Taylor said on a recent Thursday morning just before she opens the door into the police department. Stanley takes off in a full sprint down the hall and makes an immediate beeline for the office at the far end.

That’s where administrative assistant Lisa Harley sits. She’s his “favorite favorite,” Taylor said. “He loves her.”

It’s not hard to see why. She has photos of her own dogs at her desk, a satellite toy box just for Stanley, a baby gate for when she’s called upon to be his backup babysitter and, of course, treats. Just call her the “fun aunt.”

“I know when we’re having a stressful day ... and we hear the jingling of the collar coming down the hallway, it changes instantly,” Harley said. “His visits are kind of our favorite part of the day.”

Next stop: City Hall. He knows everyone, so much so that when he seems puzzled by an empty desk someone leans down to tell him that person is out sick today. He goes gently from person to person to say hello or extend a paw. Employees never know when he’s coming, but if he doesn’t show up, sometimes Taylor gets an email asking if she can bring him by.

“We like to see him every day, don’t we, buddy?” said Kelly Barker, an administrative assistant in the building department. “We love it. It makes our day. Sometimes we get to see him twice a day.”

Stanley rests his chin on her knee for a thorough head and shoulders rubdown —soothing scritches and scratches, ear massaging, the works. It's a ritual they share each time he visits.

“We love him,” Barker said. “We all want to take him home.”

Up on second floor of City Hall, another adoring audience awaits him at every turn. He pokes his nose in a meeting that includes health director Chrystal Woller, who just happens to have a pumpkin dog treat in her pocket.

“He’s such a good boy,” Woller said. “It just brightens our day and he knows it, I think.”

Everybody looks forward to their Stanley visit, said Mayor James Boyd, including him. He didn’t grow up around dogs, so he didn’t realize the impact an animal can have on day-to-day morale of a city organization.

“But it really works. There’s just something about what a dog can do to kind of brighten someone’s day. It’s pretty cool,” he said.

For Stanley’s birthday, the city shared a video on social media of him popping in to the mayor’s office in his party hat. It has been viewed thousands of times. Boyd knows better than to think his presence in the video had anything to do with its popularity. It was all Stanley.

“I’m just grateful he can’t run for office," Boyd said. "I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert. 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: De Pere Fire Rescue therapy dog Stanley is 'quite the celebrity'