What a treat for dog lovers, 12 police officers lined up with their K-9 companions at Southwest Senior High School, looking like the Avengers ready for action.
The Miami-Dade County Schools Police K-9s might not be actual superheroes, but they certainly have superpowers. You already know what detection dogs can do. They use them for random weapons and drug checks at every middle and high school, and on this day, we watched Bella sniff out a bullet casing planted inside a classroom by her handler. But the MDC Schools Police was the first school police agency to utilize a team of emotional support dogs.
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WATCH HERELt. Ray Perez founded the department’s K-9 unit in 1995 and recently came back from retirement to run the unit again.
“Because this is my passion, I love K-9, I love what I do,” Perez said.
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Three years ago, they added the comfort dogs to the team, focusing on the mental health needs of students and staff. They bring the dogs wherever they’re needed, sometimes to schools where a crisis event has occurred, but mostly, to random schools just to put a smile on the faces of kids.
“When you come home, who’s always happy to see you? Your dog, that’s kind of, we bring that same concept as a team and we bring it out to our students and staff when needed,” said Chief of Police Ivan Silva.
We watched the dogs and their handlers interact with hundreds of students during the lunch break. The vibe shift was palpable, with squeals of delight and broad smiles everywhere.
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“I think they encourage me to have a positive and brighter mood throughout the day,” said Gissette Cuevas, a senior.
Michelle Montejo, a junior, told us a previous visit by the comfort dogs helped her cope with personal issues.
“When the dogs come it’s just like, you literally forget about everything, like whatever you’re going through you forget about it and it’s just a difference, I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s a very big difference,” she said.
I asked Lieutenant Perez if he feels satisfaction from seeing the dogs help students improve their mental health.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Perez replied. “When you see the interaction that they have and also, that you see these kids interact with police officers, having these dogs is a great tool.”
The dogs break down barriers between police officers and students and build up trust. That, Chief Silva said, is crucial to keeping schools safe. Judging by the amount of tails wagging, it seems the dogs have high levels of job satisfaction, so it’s a win-win for everyone.
