Our therapy dogs are uniquely qualified for their job, not only can they create comfort, many of our dogs are skilled in behavior detection and behavior interruption.

For example: Officer Walters exhibits stress signals by putting his hands to his head. The canine comes in between the officers hands and offers comfort.

Lieutenant Pace is in a circle with four other firefighters, our canine takes a few minutes sitting directly in front of each firefighter. When the canine sits in front of Lt. Pace, he nudges the lieutenant with his nose 5 times to alert to rapid breathing or nail picking (both anxiety provoked behaviors). This helps us identify that the Lieutenant needs more assistance through peer support, mental health services, and more canine intervention.

Helping victims, witnesses, and assisting with mental health: Our dogs can be trained to be on the scene in the event that a citizen is in distress and may benefit from their care.

Victims and witnesses may exhibit signs of stress and need comfort. Our dogs can provide intervention during these times and reduce the impact of the events by providing a calm presence.

In mental health crises some of our dogs may assist individuals in ways that officers cannot achieve alone.

Our dogs are also a wonderful tool for community engagement. They can help departments and stations by creating moments of connection and joy while interacting with community. Our dogs assist officers with approachability in and around community settings and events.

Our program focuses on bridging gaps between community and first responders. We engage communities with our dogs both during their training and after they are placed with departments. We especially focus on communities that need improvement, by bringing citizens into our program as volunteers to foster good relationships with police and fire departments.