FOLSOM, Calif. — Officer Morgan Sears with the Folsom Police Department has been assigned a new partner — and it’s a dog.
Liberty the corgi is a certified therapy dog who serves as officer support and will accompany Sears in all her duties as a school resource officer, according to a department news release.
The corgi is the police department’s first therapy dog and her addition to the force is a trial run of sorts, according to department spokesman Officer Matthew Stone.
Stone said Liberty can help combat the sensory overload officers can feel every single day dealing with death and intense crime.
“The single act of petting a dog, or having a dog come up and love you, can bring you back to reality,” he said.
He said sometimes dispatchers are in a room with no sunlight for 10 hours a day sending law enforcement out to different calls, and a therapy dog could assist with the anxiety and stress they feel.
Liberty is multipurpose, and in some cases, she might comfort a child or create the understanding and trust of an officer, Stone said.
“No human being can say the right thing sometimes,” he said. “Having an animal that a victim’s comfortable with can be the difference in helping a person through a scenario that’s tough for them in the moment”
He said the department’s employment of Liberty is similar to Folsom Fire Department’s ownership of Blitz, a therapy dog assigned to the city’s fire response through the nonprofit Hearts 4 Heroes, in January 2022.
“We’re growing and molding into a department that’s trying to take care of every need,” Stone said.
