First support dog almost ready to start with RNC
Helping her handler heal
Police officers often see some of the worst of humanity — between helping survivors of sexual assault, attending homicides, car accidents, and everything in between, law enforcement is not a job many people can handle. But Const. Krista Fagan would not live her life any other way.
Fagan can uniquely sympathize with people who experience domestic violence. She was once in their shoes. And after her own experience in the early 2000s — and seeing how well the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) took care of her — Fagan’s decision was made to join the police force, graduating from the police academy in 2010.
Like many of her co-workers, Fagan is not immune to the things seen and heard by officers.
“As police officers, we do see traumas and see people on the worst day of their lives,” said Fagan. “We enter scenes where most people are running away from the scene, so we are exposed to different kinds of traumas and life circumstances.”
In 2016, after attending a particularly tough mental health crisis call, Fagan knew she needed help. She took advantage of the Employee Assistance Program Therapy and later did Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR) Therapy with Marina Hewitt.
EDMR is a type of therapy that treats trauma in a measured way, using the images, self-thoughts, emotions, and body sensations that are associated with the trauma, allowing the natural healing powers of the brain to move toward adaptive resolution. Although it was tough, Fagan believes it was the best choice for her.
“This type of therapy was pretty intense it made me process the trauma ... and this took over two months,” said Fagan.
“It was tough to go through because it pulls at the emotions
of what you are going through and you have to relive the trauma. But, then, you can put it back into a place where it’s not so reoccurring.”
Fagan now continues to practice various forms of selfcare, including meditation.
“All of those things together helped me get to the recovery portion of my trauma,” said Fagan.
Although it may not always be easy for her to talk about, Fagan continues to be open about her experience.
“I’m open about these things because even though I see them in my career everyone experiences different types of traumas,” said Fagan. “I want to speak out because it’s OK, and we need to break the stigma. We need to talk about these resources that are out there because all too often we go to calls and people don’t know where to turn to.”
FURRY SUPPORT SYSTEM
Fast forward to 2019, when RNC Chief Joe Boland attended a presentation on support dogs and court justice facility dogs while at a conference. Boland knew he wanted to bring this type of support dog to St. John’s.
Most people think of a German shepherd tracking someone down when they picture a police dog, but support dogs are much different. They’re specially trained to act as a comfort to people — usually children — when they are being interviewed by law enforcement or while testifying about something that happened to them or something they witnessed.
After hearing about this new job posting, Fagan wanted it.
“I love dogs myself (and) I know the power of what a dog can do,” said Fagan.
In May 2020, a Portuguese water dog named Stella, then 11 weeks old, arrived from Ontario and officially began her training as the RNC’S first support dog, with Fagan as her handler.
“We see things on a normal day that normal people don’t. I realized that maybe someday, I will respond to a call and it will end up being the call that will tell me I can’t do this any longer,” said Fagan. “Because Chief Boland places importance on mental health in a workplace, I was able to be in this role and be able to be working as her handler.”
For Fagan, it was a twist of fate she never knew she needed.
“It’s been great for not only my role in the community, but it has done wonders for my own mental health,” said Fagan.
“I’ve been very open and honest about my post-traumatic stress injury and depression. This is something that helps me on a day to day and helps me function as a police officer. It helps me work in this capacity just in different roles.”
To Fagan, Stella is more than just an adorable dog with big brown eyes.
“We have a special bond now - we are together more than any type of family pet someone might have,” explains Fagan.
And she’s experienced Stella’s healing powers first-hand.
“(Just) having her by my side and the unconditional love she gives me during emotional or stressful days (helps). She brings a calmness and peace to me,” Fagan says.
“She has helped me through this pandemic year, through being a police officer (and) through my own trauma. It’s truly been a blessing. I love being operational in my job and being able to have her as my partner.”
FINALIZING TRAINING
Stella is now one year old and has almost finalized her training to officially become a support dog.
“In the beginning, we had to do temperament testing with Stella and four other dogs, and she came out on top,” said Fagan. “It’s all about getting the correct dog at the beginning of this process and then the training will come easier.”
Over the last year, Fagan has partnered with retired Staff-sgt. Mike Adams for this training. They’ve spent 300 hours training Stella one-onone, about three hours each day, and they also do group classes. They have also visited more than 200 businesses, schools and long-term care centres during socialization and obedience training sessions. They have also ensured she has come into contact with over 6,000 people during this training.
Stella has exceeded all expectations so far.
Although her final certification has been pushed back due to COVID-19, as Fagan and Stella cannot travel to Columbus, Ohio to attend training, Fagan expects they will be able to travel this fall for the final component.
“If she passes that, she will be sworn in as our first official police support dog with the RNC,” said Fagan.
This will certify Stella to work as a support animal to anyone requiring her assistance, not just officers in the RNC.
“Our goal is having Stella in the interview room either before, during, after, or even involved in all three during a child interview and be able to build a police rapport,” said Fagan.
“The child may be able to give a better statement (when) Stella is in the room because she provides comfort during and adds that cathartic touch of touching a dog while explaining something traumatizing.”
For Boland, having Stella on hand as a support dog will be an innovative way to approach safety and wellness in the community and within the RNC.
“Operational Stress Injury is more common in professions such as policing, and Stella provides an accessible means to injury prevention on a daily basis by supporting our staff,” Boland says. “Stella will also play a role in our trauma-informed approach of supporting victims and survivors of crime throughout our communities. We have seen support dog services make an early impact, and the best is yet to come.”
When she is not working with members of the RNC, Fagan and Stella will still be busy. They’ll continue to be involved with community projects, such as taking part in raising money for Kids Help Phone, taking part in Mental Health Week and visiting local businesses.