Earlier this month, Brian Machowski and Wally, a therapy dog, made their way slowly through the lobby of the Gino J. Merli Veterans Center in Scranton. Several staff stopped for a snuggle and a smile before the pair made it to a patient floor.
A resident looked up in anticipation before Machowski said, "Would you like to meet Wally, sir?"
"He's a good boy to be with," said Patrick DeNapoli, an Army veteran of the 1960s who taught at Keystone College and Luzerne County Community College. DeNapoli had dogs in his younger years.
"He's a special one, you can tell," he said.
The Merli Center is on Machowski and Wally's regular route as a certified therapy dog team.
"Especially for our residents who have always loved animals, Wally fills that special place in their hearts," said Angela Watson, communications director of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, via email. "Unfortunately, we can't accept pets when our residents come to live here, so visits like this are incredibly impactful on the mental health and well-being of our veterans, families and the staff that care for them."
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Wally is ready to go on a Fall Foliage Trolley ride at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton. (Brian Machowski)
At the Helping Heroes NEPA Stomp Out Soldier Suicide Run/Walk in Peckville.Wally and his owner are with Master Sergeant John Paul Karpovich and Captain Ayana Jones members of 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, PA Army National Guard. (Black Rock Creative)
Wally and Brian Machowski. Wally generally wears eye protection.
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Wally attended a Halloween event at the Luzerne County 911 Center and posed with, from left, Geisinger Emergency Medical Services emergency medical technician Marissa Malys and emergency medical technician Kendra Smith. (Brian Machowski)
Wally is ready to go on a Fall Foliage Trolley ride at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton. (Brian Machowski)
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Machowski, 54, is a right of way agent for ARROW Land Solutions LLC and lives in Scranton with his wife.
He and Wally have volunteer arrangements to visit a few facilities and also roam all over. They are the pair you may have seen making the rounds at the Lackawanna Winter Market, in parades, veterans ceremonies, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, hospice units, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders baseball games, stores and parks.
"We haven't had a weekend off in two and a half years," Machowski said.
His next public appearance is the Clarks Summit ice festival parade in January.
The "Where's Wally Now?" Facebook page has 2,900 followers and 2,000 likes. The posts are sometimes in the voice of Wally, as he poses with police, first responders, veterans, Santa, "The Office" cast members, business owners, athletes and with his "dad."
"I don't know who rescued who," Machowski murmured as Wally received scratches at the Merli Center.
The Labrador mix was estimated at 8 weeks old, weighing 13 pounds, badly infested with worms and found on a Georgia roadside in 2020. Machowski was mourning a dog at the time.
"It's the unconditional love," he said. "The unconditional love and the bond that Wally and I have is the strongest thing I have ever experienced in my life."
Hiking together was an outlet during the pandemic.
Machowski got Wally certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs after an encounter with a veteran at a bikers' honor ride. After an older man played with Wally, a companion told Machowski the man had not raised his head in months.
Now Machowski, the son and grandson of veterans, goes to many veterans' observances. Earlier last week the pair were featured guests at a Helping Heroes NEPA fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse.
Because therapy dogs are allowed most places, Machowski often takes Wally with him as he goes about his daily life, both to keep their training sharp and for company. He has hiked more than 3,000 miles with his "adventure companion."
"Wally is just a cut above, in his intelligence, in his caring and compassion," Machowski said.