New police dogs sniff out stress to offer relief in high stress situations
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The Fort Worth Police Department's new recruits, Wookie and Echo, aren't tasked with searching for drugs, bodies, or bombs.
These canine officers are trained to sniff out stress.
"Your body excretes hormones. You might be perspiring a little bit," said Officer Kelly French, who works with Wookie. "They can smell what your body is going through."
The dogs and their handlers, Officer French and Officer Autumn Branham, are assigned to the department's crisis intervention team.
"We locate people when they're in crisis and we try to help through some of their worst days," said French.
Critical incident dogs like Fort Worth's pair are an emerging trend among law enforcement.
They're dispatched to high stress situations to find people under pressure and then work their magic.
"Echo is a hugger. So, if you're sitting, she'll just love to jump up on your lap and hug you," said Branham.
It could be a traumatized victim or witness who attracts their attention at a crime scene. Or, it could be an officer.
Police officers have higher than average suicide rates, but seeking out help can be a struggle.
"The stress we may feel throughout the day it's very common in this profession to bottle that up," said French.
The dogs don't wait for someone to approach them. They sense a person's stressed and find them.
"To think they're just emotional support dogs is totally ripping them off because they're so much more. They go through so much training," said Branham.
Their handlers are trained, too, to connect people to local resources for further help.
It's often the dogs, though, who break the ice and get the conversation started.
"He will be able to sense that you're not okay, that you're not good," said French of Wookie. "It's hard to tell a dog no when he's so soft and he's trying to get you to pet them."
Anyone interested in requesting a visit from Wookie or Echo can reach out to the Fort Worth Police Crisis Intervention Team. The pair have already visited local classrooms and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo as part of their ongoing training.