Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Highlights Paws and Stripes Child Comfort Dog Program
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard Sheriff // March 14, 2021
course is offered free of charge 3-4 times per year
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes Law Enforcement Child Comfort Dog Program is a unique and highly successful program, which consists of a 40-hour Law Enforcement Comfort Dog course that is facilitated at our Paws and Stripes College in Port St. John.
The course is offered free of charge 3-4 times per year by our agency for Law Enforcement Agencies across the country instructed by our Paws and Stripes Staff, this one of a kind program trains rescue dogs from our Animal Care Center to become Child Comfort Dogs that aid in interviewing and comforting children who are victims of such crimes as Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse and other types of violent crime that can impact our most precious of citizens, our children.
During our most recent course, Law Enforcement Officers from all over the country received instruction in the science behind comfort dogs, how to use the dogs while interviewing child victims, dog handling skills, public exposure with the dogs, and the preparation of K9 teams for Therapy Dog Team evaluation.
Because of this specialized training that is offered exclusively by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes College, these dogs and their handlers will have the ability to assist with interviews of child victims, help them start the healing process, and hopefully bring a smile back to the faces of those suffering pain and shock caused by a traumatic incident.
Please join me in congratulating today’s graduates and their K-9’s as well as thanking our team for facilitating another amazing class.
There is no doubt that these Comfort Dogs and their handlers will go on to change the lives of children who will forever remember their contact with these very special law enforcement officers.
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