They are not just man's best friend.
We are introducing you to the latest graduates of the PBSO Paws & Stripes therapy dog program, and learning how dogs connecting with people can bring real comfort in disturbing crises.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office dispatched their therapy dogs to those affected by the 10-person crash near Belle Glade last week.
"Out in the Glades, you know, that was a tragic scene with a lot of people seeing some, you know, dead kids laying there. That's traumatic, right?" said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. "So the [therapy] dogs got out there, the dispatchers that were involved, we sent them up there. We sent some to the hospital where the guy that was a survivor was at. But it's just a way for, it's a distraction. Instead of concentrating on the incident that happened, they start playing with the dogs, and it kind of just calms them down and take their mind off the bad things."
Initially, the sheriff said he didn't think the therapy dog program was going to be useful.
"I didn't think it was going to work. And it's been better than I've ever imagined. These people have done a fantastic job, and it's a real value to the agency," Bradshaw said.
Many of the dogs in the program come from Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
"Well, first we have to get with Big Dog Ranch. And we usually select the dog from them. We go through a process of temper testing the dog and making sure that the dog is viable and it's going to work for us," said the program's manager, Corporal Feaman, PBSO. "Go from a process of just in-house training to taking the dog out for more exposure, to environmental things. The mall, Palm Tran, bus stops, hospitals, wherever we think of that we're going to be deploying the dogs."
"We greatly appreciate the relationship we have with the sheriff's department, said Britney Kephert, who serves on Big Dog Ranch Rescue's board of directors. "We are able to give some of these dogs a new lease on life, literally, and they go back and serve the community, which we love seeing as people that want to help dogs in the community."
PBSO also uses therapy dogs on inmates in the jail to provide a distraction, and in the county's court system.
"The judges over there have found out that some of these witnesses that may be very, very nervous about testifying, we'll send them over there to calm some right down," said Bradshaw.
Some deputies have told me that the dogs develop relationships with children who have been through traumatic situations and even join them on the stand during court to help them get through the testifying process.
Friday, six more therapy dogs graduated from the Paws & Stripes program.
PBSO Paws & Stripes South College graduates include:
- Golden Beach Police Department
- Delray Beach Fire Department
- Hanley Foundation
- Miami-Dade Police Department
- Two teams from PBSO
