Prince George RCMP's victim services unit has a new breed of caseworker on the roster.
Since September, three therapy dogs have been providing their services to victims of crime and trauma after victim services coordinator Krista Levar took up an offer from Kirby MacInnes of locally-based Pawsitive Horizons to provide training and handling services free of charge.
"When I heard about therapy dogs being used by other police forces, I knew this was a direction I wanted our program to take," Levar said. "Over the last three years, I have researched the possibility of implementing therapy dogs but have not had the necessary resources to move forward."
The trio are Max, a golden Labrador retriever handled by Levar, Grimmus, a long-haired German shepherd handled by MacInnes, and Chara, a German shepherd-Labrador retriever cross handled by victim services volunteer Ruth Walker. All three are rescues found at the local SPCA.
Max is a certified therapy dog and the other two are working towards the designation. The goals of their training are to help calm people who are upset and reduce their feeling of isolation, particularly for those who struggle to communicate, such as children and those with disabilities.
On his first day, Max found himself comforting an upset woman. Upon entering a crowded room, he immediately went up to her and placed his head on her lap while she provided a statement to RCMP.
She was put at ease to the point where she asked if she could see Max again sometime in the future.
In another case, Grimmus was brought in to help a young child having trouble talking to investigators. After spending some time with the pooch, the child opened up and provided some useful information to police.
"Already, we have seen the benefit of these dogs when dealing with some of our victims," Prince George RCMP Supt. Eric Stubbs said.
MacInnes moved to Prince George from Calgary five years ago and is pursuing a degree in psychology at UNBC. Pawsitive Horizons co-owner Jessica Germaine holds a bachelor in psychology with honours.
"I believe in the work," said McInnes. "Increasing the accessibility to therapy dogs and training handlers for this kind of crisis work is truly inspring to me."
The dogs also act as goodwill ambassadors, said Levar.
"When I'm with one of the dogs in their vests, people feel comfortable talking to me and petting the dogs," Levar said. "I feel like every time I leave the office I have an opportunity to connect with people that may not otherwise know about the work we do in victim services."
Therapy dogs have been used in policing for many years but remain relatively rare in Canada. Prince George RCMP victim services is the first northern B.C. policing agency to use the animals.
