Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: FEBRUARY 2017 21 I t’s something dog own- ers take for granted sometimes – that warm feeling you get when your dog goes nuts just seeing you come home from a hard day’s work. The healing power of our canine companions is well documented. Dogs are in- credibly useful when it comes to making people feel better. They can also help people act better as fans of shows like “Pit Bulls and Parolees” can attest. But for lonely, elderly folks in nursing homes, people that have experienced trauma like the emotional aftermath of incidents like the Pulse night- club shooting in Orlando, and law enforcement officers who are often exposed to traumatic events on a daily basis, just being around the animals can do wonders in terms of what’s now referred to as “wellness.” Operating on the idea that being around a dog can make your day better, the Solano County Sheriff’s Department (CA) is moving forward with a dog-centric wellness pro- gram. The first part involves K-9 Kepi, a specially trained 3- year-old Labrador retriever. Kepi’s what’s known as a therapy dog and is partnered with Police Chaplain Robert Duvall to help cops and ci- vilians through traumatizing events. The second part involves dogs from the Solano County Animal Shelter spending a week at the department in hopes they can lift the spirits of deputies on the job. The best part is that officers have the option of adopting the dogs. So far, all six dogs that have come to the department have been adopted by either depu- ties or civilians. Chaplain Duvall says the dogs give cops a chance to access and process emotions they might not be able to Fentanyl poses a potential hazard to first responders who could unknowingly come into contact with these drugs in their different forms. While dermal absorption of fentanyl com- monly occurs through prescribed use of the drug, inhalation of the powder is the most likely exposure route for illicitly-manu- factured fentanyl. Law enforcement personnel may come into contact with these drugs on the street during the course of their activities. The DEA recommends that officers do not field test drugs if fentanyl is suspected. The substance should be collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Exposure via inhalation or skin absorption can be deadly. (From the Center for Disease Control) without help from the ani- mals. “Kepi makes a huge dif- ference, opening a lot of emotional doors that other- wise would not be opened,” Duvall says. Victims have a similar re- sponse. After a fatal traffic accident where a mother died, the chaplain and Kepi visited the family. “The youngest daughter just ran over to Kepi and started hugging her,” Duvall told reporters at the Daily Republic. “Dogs, especially labradors, can sense if some- one is upset. She is really good at pointing out when someone is struggling.” The dogs at the station are serving their purpose. “Our entire day has been made better,” said Lt. Jon Mazer while holding the latest visitor, a 5-year-old Chihuahua/Corgi/Shizhu mix named Dude. They don’t clear cases. They don’t interrogate suspects or respond to calls. These dogs won’t even answer the phones or go for cofee. But they do make getting through the day a hell of a lot easier. Dogs helping cops Officer safety alert on exposures to Fentanyl 800-GUNHIDE 631-841-6300 Dept # AP27 431 Bayview Avenue Amityville, NY 11701 desantisholster.com MSRP Style 145 2499 $ ™ OUTBACK • OWB/IWB leather holster • Clip allows unlimited positioning as an IWB • Twin-slotted pancake style OWB keeps gun close & tight ‡VL]HVÀ WDOPRVWall concealable handguns Tuckable™ 360