The therapy dog ​​joins the Moorhead Police Department – Inforum

Moorhead – the newest employee of the Moorhead Police Department has four legs, gold fur and a friendly smile.

The new addition of the team is a 7 -year -old gold retriever, called Remi. Remi will be the department therapy dog, owned and managed by Megan Lundborg, the Community resources navigator of the department. The department brings a dog therapy in an effort to bring emotional support to officers, victims of crime and other community members.

The Moorhead Police Department has provided a subsidy of $ 10,000 through the Dog Program from the Minnesota Public Safety Department. The subsidy helps the law enforcement agencies such as police departments and fire departments to obtain, train and keep dogs.

The one -year subsidy will support the dog management costs, including veterinary care, care and continuous training.

With the lack of personnel in progress, the fact that a sworn officer served as the dog manager was not an option, said Captain Deric Swenson. However Lundborg, who works in a

civil capacity at the department,

He already had a dog that had completed the training for dogs.

Lundborg said the benefits of therapy dogs can be seen when people interact with one.

“You only see that people relax, as you can see that it takes, a kind of pain and maybe a tension sometimes,” Lundborg said.

Having a therapy dog ​​in the department continues to extend the attention of the department on Wellness, Swenson said. Department has already had a

Wellness coordinator

and peer assistance programs and assistance for employees for officers.

There are no specific plans for the role in the Department, leaving room for these roles to develop organically, Swenson said. Remi will be regularly available in the law enforcement center for officers to interact, but its role in the department will not stop there. It could also be brought to calls with a member of the community in crisis or be available to meet the victims of crimes.

“Many people go through these doors that have the worst experiences in their lives,” Swenson said, noting that once the program works, the department will not refuse people’s access to a therapy dog.

Chief Shannon Monroe said he was interested in getting a therapy dog ​​in the department, especially for school resources officers to bring to schools to comfort students. While Lundborg is not a school resource officer, Monroe said that the department finally wants to go in this direction with the therapy dog ​​program.

“It’s just a very good way to break the ice with certain children,” Monroe said.

Officers can be worried about new programs, but they have embraced recent completions, such as the role of Lundborg Community resources and an analyst of civil crime, Swenson said.

“We have learned over the years that when we introduce these new programs, that we do not push them, we do not set these expectations, we do not force these programs and then, again, that organic piece comes,” said Swenson.

The Moorhead Municipal Council accepted the subsidy during its Monday, February 24th. Once the subsidy is completed, Remi will officially start as a Department therapy dog ​​once in March.