Central Ohio police on forefront of using, training therapy dogs to connect with community

Police departments around the country are upgrading their K-9 arsenal with dogs that are meant to be pet, and many are trained in Columbus.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department became the first police department in Ohio to have a therapy dog in 2017. Two years later, Columbus police joined with their own and the two began to train therapy dogs for different agencies in the state and beyond. The program has expanded substantially over the past five years.

Mike Paulins, a Columbus police officer who helps train the therapy dogs, said they have various uses both internally helping officers in the department and externally with people in the community.

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He said this can be a tool for those in an officer-involved shooting, boost overall officer morale and sometimes assist people in the Columbus Fire Department.

Externally, they can help victims and witnesses of almost any crime, provide victim assistance in courtrooms including being pet by witnesses on the stand, and community relations involving education and PR.

Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said he saw great benefits in having therapy dogs during a crime where the FBI wanted to bring in a therapy dog to help get a child witness to open up, which worked.

"Well right then I’m thinking there’s a lot more to this than just simply being petted by kids in school [and] people in senior homes,” Baldwin said.

He said that when the department got dogs on board, they began working with victims and witnesses in traumatic events, such as children who were sexually abused, domestic violence victims and people who went through school shootings.

The dogs receive desensitivity training over a five-day class that is paid for by community partners including The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the Franklin County Fairgrounds and local restaurants. The training teaches the dogs to remain focused in different situations they may encounter while at work, including being around food, in large crowds or being around a helicopter.

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Darrah Metz, a deputy of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and master canine trainer, has been training police therapy dogs for seven years. Metz was the first to urge the department to use the anmials.

Mattis K. Nine was the first police therapy dog in the state and was trained by and worked with Metz in the years following. He died from end-stage liver failure at seven-years-old, according to a Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Instagram post .

The trainers graduated a class of 14 dogs this summer, sending the animals to various agencies including some in California, Kentucky and Canada.

Paulins said there have been around 140 agencies that have had dogs trained by this program in 11 different classes.

Metz said the only expenses the police departments have had to pay for are travel and some meals.

Baldwin said as the program grows, it will become harder for the training to be run on donations.

“We appreciate the donations, but I intend to keep the program whether we’re put in the bill or not,” Baldwin said.

This is the last class before police therapy dogs will start being certified by the state rather than the sheriff’s department.

This most recent class graduated the first State Highway Patrol therapy dog, Hope. Paul Appleman, state highway trooper and her handler, said Hope’s demeanor made her suitable for being a therapy dog.

“You hate to use the word 'tool,' but hopefully it’s going to be a great tool for us in the battle with mental health,” Appleman said.

DHunt@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio police on forefront of using, training therapy dogs to connect with community