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St. Paul Police Welcome Therapy Dog To The Force

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- St. Paul Police have a new hire, and he is unlike any employee they have ever had before.

This 11-week-old German Shepherd mix is not a K-9 officer, nor a drug dog. In fact, he has a job that no other dog on the force has ever taken on.

The sirens, the stress; it's a job that requires the toughest of skin. But things just got a lot softer inside police headquarters.

Meet Sgt. Fuzz -- the department's therapy dog!

"Fastest moving up in the ranks [laughs]!" said Reserve Officer Kathryn Smith.

Sgt. Fuzz
Sgt. Fuzz (credit: CBS)

She recruited the new hire. Fuzz, his mother and siblings were rescued from living outside on a farm in the winter. He has clearly found plenty of warmth in the department.

"He must have visited about 50 people," Officer Jean Barber said. "They all thanked me for bringing him down because some of them didn't have a good day, so this brightened up their day."

"Some of the things that officers have to deal with on a daily basis, he would just come in and give them attention and kind of get their mind off of it," Smith said.

Sgt. Fuzz won't be catching any thieves, but he does have two very important jobs: He will help officers and victims on scene cope via cuddles, and he will also serve as a community icebreaker.

"We want to reach more of our community, we love talking to our community, we want to meet more members of our community. And what better than to bring a nice, cute-looking dog like this to be able to help us do that," said Officer Armando Abla-Reyes.

Officers say they typically bring K-9s or other co-working dogs to community events, but it's best not to pet those dogs. Meanwhile, Sgt. Fuzz is all about being petted.

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