Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120
PLYMPTON — Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl are proud to introduce Aggie, a comfort dog to support students and residents.
The Town of Plympton recently acquired Aggie, a Labrador Retriever, from Professional Canine Services in Middleboro, where she is currently performing her comfort dog training. Aggie, 5 months-old, was acquired by Plympton Police with assistance from a $5,000 grant from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Aggie’s handler is Plympton Patrol Officer Cameron Broderick, and Aggie will be used to reduce stress and promote wellness for students in Plympton Public Schools, and also attend town events.
Plympton Police Chief Matthew Ahl said, “The Plympton Police Department IS extremely excited and thankful to be able to launch the comfort dog program with the assistance of the Plymouth County DA’s Office. Our comfort dog, Aggie, and her handler, Officer Broderick, will work together to assist and benefit the community in many ways, whether being present at the school, community events or sensitive incidents. There has already been a significant positive impact of this program and we’ve only just begun. We look forward to seeing the great work that this program does and continuing to strengthen our relationship with our community and residents.”
DA Cruz developed the Plymouth County Comfort Dogs Program to provide additional services and resources to our communities. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office provides a mini-grant to Plymouth County Police Departments to assist with costs associated with acquiring, training and caring for their comfort dog.
The pilot program has been designed to be implemented by either local School Resource Officers or the PD’s Community Outreach Officer, who in turn becomes the dog’s handler and sole caretaker. Both the handler and the comfort dog become members of the Plymouth County Comfort Dogs Program and are required to undergo all necessary trainings in the certification process to qualify as a comfort therapy dog.
Our network of Plymouth County Comfort Dogs are present in our schools and are on hand to provide emotional support for students during the day, and available to the community at night and on weekends. Additionally, the handler and the comfort dog work with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office staff at community events across Plymouth County and provide comfort services at our Children’s Advocacy Center and office.
There are currently 14 Comfort Dogs in the PCDAO pilot program.