Marion County Sheriff’s Office has introduced a new therapy dog in an effort to comfort victims of violent or sensitive crimes.
MCSO obtained the therapy dog to assist deputies and detectives during criminal investigations, according to a press release. The therapy dog is named Lily, and is a five-year-old female Beagle/Corgi mix who was rescued from a euthanasia shelter. Lily was enrolled in the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s eight-week course called “Paws & Stripes College.” At the program, dogs learned basic obedience skills, while selected graduates moved into the advanced training program to serve as PTSD dogs, therapy dogs and child victim advocate dogs.
Lily graduated from the program’s Law Enforcement Investigative Therapy Dog Course and was given to MCSO at no cost in May of 2017. Since then, Lily has received full certification as a therapy dog and is out working in the community, the press release stated.
Her handler, MCSO’s Department of Children and Families Investigative Liaison, Detective Janeen Henley-Freeman, will focus on adult and children DCF investigations, missing persons, sex crimes, child abductions and child exploitation internet crimes. The goal for Lily is to help victims of these crimes feel more at ease while speaking about their situations.
“We’ve seen an enormous difference since we began using Lily to help us with out more sensitive investigations,” said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods in the press release. “We’ve had children who have experienced horrific crimes open up to us because Lily made them feel comfortable. When Lily walks into a room, she brings a sense of joy and comfort with her, and we know she will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our crime victims in Marion County.”
