OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) – The Oshkosh Police Department has acquired a new therapy dog, following the tragic passing of the previous dog, K9 Magic, last year.
The new dog is K9 Gema, a professionally trained, two-year-old female Yellow Labrador who will provide emotional support to both community members and officers.
Oshkosh Police said she will be working with the Behavioral Health Officer, Scott Sopata, who since October 2021 has been responding to behavioral health-related calls, highly sensitive and emotional calls for service, as well as being used to support employees of the Oshkosh Police Department after critical incidents.
She is a very friendly dog, loves treats, and is always excited to meet new people, police said. Police indicated in a news release that K9 Gema is a part of the police department efforts at deescalating situations and bringing calm to high stress situations.
charitable organization in Oshkosh, whose mission is to provide highly trained service dogs to people diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
According to the news release, this organization has a unique training program for their service dogs. The service dogs reside at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution and inmates apply to the program to provide training in several areas and care for the dogs. Community volunteers go to the facility to provide instruction to inmates and take the dogs out of the prison to provide experiences that are not possible in a correctional facility.
This partnership significantly decreases the cost of training service dogs, increasing the number of dogs who can be trained and placed in the community. The Oshkosh Police Department feels that partnering with Journey Together and the Oshkosh Correctional Institution helps to support rehabilitation programs and support citizens in the community who are diagnosed with PTSD.
The Oshkosh Police Department believes by incorporating a Behavioral Health Officer, a therapy dog, and a Mental Health Crisis Specialist Co-Responder into their team, as well as having a Mental Health and Resiliency program for employees, the department is striving to promote this wellness in the Oshkosh community.
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