Like many overzealous dog moms, Dana Tozzi dresses her toy poodle Enzo in seasonally appropriate bow ties, sweaters, and pajamas, but there was a time when Dana thought she would never own a dog.
“I have terrible allergies,” Dana says. “My entire life, up until the last few years, I couldn’t be around dogs.” That was until a friend introduced Dana to a hypoallergenic toy poodle that did not trigger her allergies and ultimately led the Tozzis to a breeder and puppy Enzo.
“I instantly fell in love with my Enzo,” Dana recalls. “He was this little teddy bear. I need this dog.
Enzo, the bow tie-wearing toy poodle, volunteers as a therapy dog in Southern Wake County. Enzo’s visit to the Holly Grove Elementary School classroom of Bianca Tozzi inspired a picture book debuting this summer.
“I never understood the people that love their animals like they’re their children. Now, I am that person.”
Enzo immediately joined the Tozzi family, which includes Dana’s husband Anthony and daughters Lilli and Bianca, who live in Holly Springs. Dana works as a literacy coach and intervention teacher at Holly Grove Elementary School. Her decades-long teaching career, which began in New Jersey, has centered around literacy support.
“I have always been a huge lover of children’s literature. I would spend weekends hunkering down at Barnes & Noble with a pile of books trying to find new books that I could bring to my classroom to read aloud for my kids,” she says.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since college,” Dana shares. But a subject never gripped her — until Enzo.
“I thought that it would be a great idea to have a therapy dog to give back to the community,” she says. Enzo’s exceptionally calm and friendly temperament made him the perfect candidate for certification through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
Spending time with therapy dogs has been shown to decrease blood pressure and stress levels, and increase overall emotional well-being, according to the organization’s website.
“(Interactions with therapy dogs) help de-stress. It helps bring your cortisol levels down; it helps keep you calm. … Just the motion of petting the dog can bring your cortisol levels down,” says Dana. “Therapy dogs can help just about anybody.”
After earning his official credentials, Enzo and Dana visited local nursing homes and attended a swim meet at Triangle Aquatic Center.
“At TAC in Cary, they often have therapy dogs that come for the swimmers before they swim to calm their anxiety.”
Enzo also completed training in the UNC Health Rex Fur Friends program, which allows him to visit patients and staff in the Holly Springs hospital in the company of a handler and volunteer escort.
Enzo’s Story is available at Barnes & Noble and walmart.com and will be availalble through Amazon later this summer.
Inspiration truly struck when Dana and Enzo visited Holly Grove Elementary School, where Dana teaches and her daughter Bianca attends.
“We did a visit at my school, where he visited a whole bunch of different classrooms. I talked with the kids; they got to pet him. He does a couple little tricks when he’s in the mood, so we did all those things. I brought him two days back-to-back. And I went home that night, and I was just filled with so much happiness. I thought, ‘I think I can write about this.’”
The resulting picture book, Enzo’s Story: A Therapy Dog’s Journey, shares the heartwarming tale of Enzo’s experiences and the benefits that therapy dogs can provide.
Gives patients a sense of unconditional love and acceptance
Helps minimize the stress of the hospital environment
Provides distraction from illness, reducing anxiety and enhancing coping skills
Normalizes the hospital experience by making it more “home-like”
Source: rexhealth.com
“Through the book, I can share awareness. A lot of people understand the idea of a service dog, but they don’t understand the difference between a service dog and a therapy dog,” says Dana.
“My ultimate goal is for anywhere we go, people to say, ‘That’s Enzo,’ to know him and learn about him and just bring awareness … understanding how to behave around dogs, understand what his role is, and how therapy dogs can help us.”
“I’m telling you, I sit there petting him, and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is so therapeutic.’ You just don’t even realize that it’s working.”
Dana herself did a lot of learning as a first-time author — seeking an agent, publisher, and illustrator to bring the project to completion. Despite setbacks and delays, her devotion to the story kept her moving forward.
“It’s been 20-something years that I’ve been thinking about this. I got the thought and I ran with it. If there’s something out there that you want, you’re never too old. It’s never too late. It’s there for you; you need to make it happen.”
Follow Enzo’s adventures at
@enzoferruccio_thetoypoodle
@enzo_thetoypoodle
enzothetoypoodle.com
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