VCSO adds therapy dog to program
Bo, a German shepherd, will assist the Cummunity Response Impact Team
LOS LUNAS — He’s about 80 pounds with soft brown eyes, and he just volunteered at the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office.
His name is Bo, and he’s an American Kennel Club registered German shepherd therapy dog.
Bo, who has AKC Canine Good Citizenship training and credentials with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, is the main ingredient in the new VCSO therapy dog program, a first for the office. It was initiated in December and is part of the Community Response Impact Team under Sgt. Lawrence Montano.
“I’m really excited about the program, and I’m grateful the sheriff is initiating the program,” said Bo’s handler, Joseph Krcal.
Krcal is a reserve deputy who has been with the VCSO for more than three years. He has also been a New Mexico Ranger and a reserve deputy with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office for seven years, five of which were spent with its canine team.
Bo is no stranger to the sheriff’s office, because Krcal has brought him around. He proposed using the therapy dog for VCSO operations, said Undersheriff Mark R. Shea.
“We looked at all the certifications, credentials and everything that Joseph provided for us and then we put together a policy,” Shea said.
Some of the tasks Bo will perform include assisting behavioral health personnel with crisis intervention, comforting children of domestic violence, soothing victims during law enforcement interviews and assisting in times of crisis, such as during natural disasters. Bo will also participate in community outreach and public events.
He’s probably a lot more trained than an average therapy dog needs to be, Krcal said, because he took the dog on as a project when the canine was just a puppy.
“He’s very well trained; he’s up to 24 commands now,” Krcal said.
Bo is not trained for police work, but strictly as a therapy dog.
“The thing that’s unique about a shepherd, and I’ve had shepherds all my married life, which has been 38 years, they were actually bred to guard sheep, and so at the same time they’re very gentle,” he said. “I’ve never had any trouble with any of my shepherds with my kids because they have this sense ...”
Some of the county’s children and parents have already met Bo at the annual VCSO Toyland event. Several children gravitated to the dog, who willingly extended a paw.
Hopefully, county residents will soon get a chance to meet the gentle canine at neighborhood watch and other community events.
Lying at his handler’s feet, Bo rises and whines softly and a little nervously. Krcal explains that Bo is having trouble sitting still because, when he’s got his canine therapy vest on, he understands that he’s going to work.
“So, now he’s got the vest on and we’re sitting here. It’s like, ‘Come on Dad, what are we doing?’ ” Krcal said.
When Bo first started working as a therapy dog in hospitals, he had a little trouble with elevators. Krcal said he looked like a drunken sailor while in the elevator, but now, Bo lies down immediately.
“It was pretty funny watching him get used to elevators,” Krcal said. “He’s gotten over it pretty good though.”
Reserve deputies work on a volunteer basis. Krcal is self-employed as a remodeling contractor. That’s how he’s able to volunteer. His schedule is flexible and that’s what has allowed him to volunteer for so long.
“Joseph is one of our most active deputies,” Shea said. “He’s probably one of our most dedicated reserve deputies from a standpoint of giving back to the community.”
Using dogs for therapy was originally promoted by a registered nurse, Elaine Smith, back in the 1970s when she noticed patients who received visits from a chaplain who brought a dog seemed to recover better than patients who didn’t see the dog.
Smith founded Therapy Dogs International after it was clear that therapy dogs have a calming and comforting effect on patients who like animals.
“The research shows that if people do like animals, they do actually have a calming effect on individuals; they actually can release endorphins that stimulate a calming effect on people, especially children,” Krcal said.