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Therapy dog added to ECSO K9 Unit

The Erie County Sheriff's Office is adding a therapy dog to its K9 Unit, to respond to traumatic incidents and comfort both victims and first responders.

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- The Erie County Sheriff's Office is celebrating a special, new addition to its K9 Unit.

Loki, the 15-month-old Chocolate Lab, will be a therapy K9 officer.

She will begin training with her owner, Deputy Alicia Gordon, to help in a variety of situations, such as helping in crimes against children, school violence incidents, deadly accidents, and other traumatic events.

The idea is as a team, to bring comfort to both the victims in these incidents and the first responders. Deputy Gordon said, "Law enforcement officers deal with a lot of stress, and everyone out in the community can name a time when they've been stressed, and what better way to deal with that stress than bring a dog along?" Gordon continued, "[I]f we can help bring a little bit of light into a dark time for somebody... then we've reached our goal."

Loki and Deputy Gordon will leave on February 24 for the Law Enforcement and Multi-discipline Crime Against Children Investigative Therapy Dog Course in Cocoa, Florida. The duo will spend a week training in a specialized classes so Loki can become a certified therapy dog, like basic and advanced obedience techniques, behavioral observation training, vehicle ops, and investigative and interview techniques.

Currently, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office has four narcotics detection canines assigned to the jail division, three explosive detection canines, four Police Services narcotics detection canines, one accelerant detection canine, and one cadaver detection dog. The Sheriff’s Office believes Loki will be the first certified law enforcement therapy canine in New York.

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