A furry friend will soon be apart of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office to bring comfort to residents.

The Sheriff’s Office explains that they will be adding another K9 dog to the organization, but not as a crime investigative canine, but as a therapy dog. Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante pinpoints that the idea stemmed following the tragic shooting that occurred at Perry High School on January 4th. He reveals that after seeing how happy the therapy dogs at the Perry School District made people, he believes a similar joy could be felt by the sheriff’s office. Infante elaborates that the therapy dog will be assisting in criminal situations as well.

“They’re so calming that if we’re interviewing a victim of violent crime that they’ll tend to talk more or be more open if they’re playing with a dog at the same time they’re being interviewed, and they just bring a huge calming effect to everyone they interact with.”

Infante describes that they were given a grant from Crisis K9’s of the Midwest to help defer the costs and the therapy dog will help with victim and forensic interviews, peer support, grief and trauma support, critical stress debriefings, office wellness, among other things. 

The dog is an English Cream Golden Retriever and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help with names as Infante indicates it will give the community a sense of connection. People are encouraged to offer their suggested names on the Sheriff’s Facebook page.