There’s a new face in the Punta Gorda Police Department, and we’re not talking about one who wears a badge and stands on two legs.
“I have a partner that goes everywhere with me, and every time people see him, it puts a smile on their face,” Lt. Justin Davoult said.
Chance isn’t someone you’d see behind the wheel of a police cruiser or coming after bad guys; he’s a beagle mix on the K9 squad.
Lt. Davoult and PGPD got Chance from a program in Brevard County called “Paws and Stripes.”
“They take the rescue, train them to be therapy dogs and they adopt them out for free nationwide,” Davoult said. “You know it’s funny; as soon as he walks in the room, he brightens everyone’s day. K9 Chance – his main job – is just to make people happy.”
It could be visiting nursing homes like Davoult and Chance did today or rolling over in the grass with dispatchers. Decked out in his vest and thin blue line collar, K9 Chance also hits the road with Davoult to stressful scenes.
“So if we have an incident where we may have a victim or a witness, sometimes it’s a little hard to interview that individual, so we’ll bring in K9 chance, and it kind of eases the tension, brings a little joy to the situation and then it’s a lot easier to talk to that individual,” Davoult said.
Source: nbc-2.com
