POLICE PARTNERS
Police officer and service dog celebrate five years of bringing comfort to victims
Sgt. Tia Froh of the Regina Police Service and Merlot, a trained assistance or facility dog that helps victims or witnesses of crime with emotional support, have spent the last five years as a team both while on the job and at home.
For a dog, five years is a long time.
Not so long to Regina Police Service (RPS) Sgt. Tia Froh. She would be happy to make it much longer.
This month marks the five-year anniversary of an interesting partnership, one that has brought comfort to numerous victims and witnesses of traumatic events, such as serious crime.
Merlot, a seven-year-old female black Lab, spent 2½ years in training in Burnaby, B.C., before beginning her career with the RPS as a justice facility dog. Froh came on board at that time as Merlot’s handler, and the two have since met with numerous people both at their office at the Regina Children’s Justice Centre and at various courthouses.
“Basically, she is here to provide quiet companionship to those who need her,” says Froh. “We can be of assistance to basically anybody who’s been a victim or witness of crime or trauma. But our priority is working with children.”
Merlot is the RPS’S first such dog, part of a relatively new program in Canada. Asked what it means to her to have reached the five-year mark, Froh says, “Time flies fast.”
“I had no clue how I was going to go about it,” she says of those early days. “But then once you kind of get it, now that I have, we have just this good thing going.”
Froh notes the courts allow Merlot to sit with witnesses while they go through the stressful process of testifying. It’s in the courtroom where Merlot shows some of her great skills, foregoing normal dog behaviours by sitting or lying quietly and patiently next to witnesses, sometimes for hours on end.
“The longest ‘down’ that she held was at court and it was almost 4½ hours,” says Froh. “And so speaking of a dog to lie there that long and not move and just be by that person’s side for that long is huge.”
Some of Merlot’s greatest moments, though, come in the interview room. Froh explains that getting victims and witnesses to speak openly in that type of setting can be a challenge, particularly when they are affected by trauma. But when Merlot’s there, it often becomes a lot easier.
“Merlot is calming them without even them knowing it,” Froh says. “A lot of times, the statement that we’re getting from these people is more in-depth because they’re more comfortable to talk about their story.”
As a police officer in an interview situation, Froh has to remain neutral. But Merlot doesn’t.
“I can’t touch an individual or anything, but if you’ve got a child that’s crying or upset, there’s been times where Merlot will get up and lick the tears off their face,” Froh says. “I think she just kind of knows who needs what.”
Other times, Merlot has gently nudged people with her nose or even sat on their laps to calm them — methods that tend to work wonders.
Merlot lives with Froh while off-duty, so the two are together 24/7 — making the job a true commitment. But it’s one Froh wouldn’t want to give up.
“PADS (the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society), myself and Merlot will ultimately make the decision when she’s ready to retire,” she says, noting seven to 10 years is considered the working range for a justice facility dog. “I hope she works here forever.”