The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office has added Clair to its team – a therapy dog trained to respond to traumatic events and comfort victims.
Sheriff Brad Youngman wanted to grow the canine unit, specifically within their drug unit. However, his team introduced him to building a therapy dog unit.
Through the non-profit Dogs Helping Heroes, they secured a dog that would provide relief to DCSO staff. After winning a grant, the price of classes and obtaining Claire didn’t cost the department anything.
“In law enforcement, with the trauma that we deal with, and of course that trauma is not always just us, it’s the community, pretty much everywhere we could benefit from some sort of therapy animal or mental health focus,” Youngman said.
Claire is a former rescue from the Daviess County Animal Shelter.
Claire and her handler, Sargent Tyler Free, now undergo ten weeks of training in Jeffersonville, Indiana, to finish the certification training.
According to Youngman, Free spends most of his time in the Sheriff’s Office, so Claire will also spend her time docked there.
Once Claire finishes training, she will recognize people’s mental crises and offer comfort in various ways. Because of this, Claire will be used in the office for deputies to connect with and for the community to benefit from.
“I want Claire and Sargent Free to be able to come out there and make connections in the community,” Youngman said. “So to all mental health professionals, principals, assistant principals, and anyone else, if you have a need you want Sargent Free and Claire to come by, just give me a call.”
