Community resource dogs helping students and police officers in schools "give love and get love"
WALPOLE - More local police departments and schools are bringing community resource dogs to classrooms this year.
It all started in Walpole in 2017 with golden retriever Rebel. Now the face of the town and the police department, she was the first community resource dog to head inside schools from Golden Opportunities for Independence (GOFI).
"I was new to the job and I thought I could bring a puppy around as a icebreaker, a conversation starter and the idea grew from there," Walpole School Resource Officer Tom Hart told WBZ.
Officer Hart says it changed the dynamics of his job.
"I can help in so many different ways now because of Rebel," he said.
For six years now, he's watched Rebel make a difference to the students in Walpole schools.
"There was a young boy in kindergarten, and he was having a really, really tough morning and he didn't want to go to class, and I just simply walked over and asked if wanted to walk Rebel to class and instantly his whole demeanor changed. He grabbed the leash, he was smiling ear to ear and we got him to go to class right away," Hart said.
That's why more police departments are welcoming community resource dogs in their cities and towns. The dogs are trained to provide physical and mental assistance, as well as interact with a variety of people.
In Charlton, they're using their community resource dog to help increase attendance, especially on Fridays.
"Charlton has high five Fridays, so we're there encouraging kids high fiving them on their way in," Charlton Police Officer Jennifer Burdett told WBZ.
Officer Burdett says having their dog Milkshake at school has helped reduce absenteeism.
"She will assist me if we're having a problem with a child who just doesn't really want to go to school, maybe we're having a consistent problem," said Burdett.
For Norwood, it was in a moment of tragedy where the town realized the benefit the dogs could have on their schools.
"One of our kids at the middle school ended up passing away tragically," Norwood School Resource Officer Geoffrey Baguma told WBZ. "That morning when they found out about the tragedy, both children and staff you could see them just break. Having the GOFI dogs come in, people just went to them."
That's when the Norwood Police Department decided to add a permanent, and furry, new member to their team.
"Some people ask me, 'What's her purpose? She's not an angry attack dog, or a drug sniffing dog. Her main purpose is to give love and get love," said Officer Baguma. "I'm very excited for the new year for everybody waiting to see Sally to see what she can do, to see how many people she can continue to affect."
As kids and these community resource dogs get ready to head back to class, the hope is that parents can rest easy knowing in many cities and towns there will be an added layer of comfort for students this school year.
"She's really changed my whole career and I think, the towns and the schools for the better," said Officer Hart.
Golden Opportunities for Independence has worked with local departments to help train and develop this new kind of police dog. Community Resource Dogs (CRD) are highly trained dogs bred, and raised to handle adverse situations of all kinds. The dogs and handlers must be tested and titled through AKC with their Puppy STAR, Canine Good Citizen (CGC), CGC Advanced and Urban, and pass GOFI's own Public Access Test.
