Ohio State Highway Patrol K9 shows off bomb-sniffing skills
Meet Kova, a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever who detects explosives for the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
- Therapy dogs like Radar and Franklin provide comfort and support to staff and visitors in medical and legal settings.
- These dogs help to reduce stress, promote communication and create a more positive environment.
- The impact of therapy dogs extends beyond their training, often providing intuitive support in challenging situations.
Meet Radar.
Flopped on his back to expose his stomach and a bent Bark ID, the Buckeye Paws certified therapy dog reveled in the gasps of joy and excitement from staff members at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
The 10-year-old Labrador retriever’s handler, ReNea Owens, is a physical therapist by training who now serves as the associate director of outpatient rehabilitation at the Wexner Medical Center.
“He’s still smiling,” Owens laughed at her dog toward the end of their visit with the staff. “He loves it.”
This is a space to celebrate weekly those who choose to donate their time, resources and energy to serve others in their communities.
What about those who don’t have a choice? They work long hours, often more tirelessly than their colleagues, with only a snack, a pat on the back or the satisfaction of a job well done to keep them going.
“It’s very humbling to think that my dog can make an impact on people’s lives every day,” Owens said.
“We’ll walk into the hospital and people just come up to us, grab the dog and say, ‘This has been the best part of my day.'”
The first therapy K-9 in Ohio, Mattis paved the way
Owens’ wife, Sgt. Darrah Metz of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, oversees the department’s therapy K-9 program.
Beyond training the therapy dogs for the sheriff’s office, Metz leads trainings for organizations across the country wanting to implement therapy K-9 programs. This has included Buckeye Paws, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.
Atop leading the program and trainings, Metz also had her own K-9 partner who passed away last year, Mattis.
The duo launched the program in 2017, and Mattis was the first of his kind in the state. He was also the sixth in the nation, Metz said.
“Obviously, we don’t want a dog that’s trained to take down suspects and get the bad guys to have interaction with our victims of crime. It’s just a different job,” Metz said.
“These guys are for the good guys and making sure that our community is healing and coming together and working together to make Franklin County the best it can be.”
Serving the staff who serve those in need
An early recruit just like his brother, Radar was the fourth therapy dog with the Buckeye Paws Program.
Defying the expectation that these dogs are for helping the patients at the medical center, each Buckeye Paws dog travels around the hospital and administrative buildings with his or her handler to show love to the staff members.
The Buckeye Paws Program currently has 30 handler-dog teams and is in the process of onboarding 20 more, according to program manager Amy Mitchell. The waitlist is close to 90 Ohio State employees wanting to serve their colleagues.
“We saw the higher-pitched voices and the smiles. People are talking to each other; the communication, it opens up that,” Mitchell said.
“When we go out to a unit, maybe they’re having a difficult day. You may see some tears. It’s pretty incredible to see how these dogs can make a difference, because they’re nonjudgmental. They’re just here to provide you with support.”
From the hospital to the courtroom
On the North Side of central Ohio, Franklin, the Delaware County Juvenile and Probate Court dog, works in the court of Judge David A. Hejmanowski. Franklin was named after the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as he and his handler, Deputy Chief Probation Officer Gia DeGirolamo, were intending to take part in Metz’s training before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
As the smallest employee of the court, Franklin enjoys sitting on chairs in the courtroom and making his rounds through the office for treats.
Both DeGirolamo and Hejmanowski noted the impact Franklin has made on making the people feel safe to talk in what could feel like a scary or overwhelming process, especially for minors in juvenile court.
Hejmanowski recounted story after story of Franklin making people comfortable, including a young girl who was scared to meet with him.
“I got right down on the floor in front of Franklin, and I said, ‘When I talk to Franklin, I have to take my glasses off.’ And she looked at me kind of strangely, and I said, ‘You want to know why?’ And she nodded. I leaned right in, and he started licking my face,” the judge said.
For both victims and those who are in meetings for restorative justice, Franklin is present and seems to know what people need even beyond the bounds of his training, DeGirolamo said.
DeGirolamo recounted a story of a young girl who was due to testify as a victim of sexual abuse. Franklin gave her the courage to speak.
Since Franklin wasn’t courtroom ready yet, DeGirolamo gave the girl a photo of him to be with her during the trial.
“She would tell Franklin the answers to those questions. She was very afraid, but when she was talking to Franklin or with Franklin, the tears stopped,” she said.
“It was the things that I can’t teach him. Laying next to her? I can show him that, but then he puts his paw on her. Those are things that have happened over and over again, and her abuser is doing life now.”
Franklin also makes visits in the community when there are situations of mass need such as a death within a Delaware County school, Hejmanowski added.
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with The Columbus Dispatch to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives, or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at Dispatch.com/Kindness. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.
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