Meet Shrewsbury Police’s new service dog

SHREWSBURY – The newest member of the Shrewsbury Police Department has four paws, a tail and big floppy ears.

Blue, a 16-week-old miniature Goldendoodle, is the town’s new comfort dog. Blue came to town a few weeks ago and Shrewsbury Police Department officers hope to introduce her to the community and help them soon. Officer Alicia Brownell is the dog handler and will be caring for Blue outside of work.

“I think (Blue) will be a good help to the community. If there is a tragic event, we can use the dog to comfort people and reduce their stress levels. It’s also good to assign him to the school resource officer so the dog can help children who are going through difficult times,” Police Chief Kevin Anderson told the Community Advocate.

The name “Blue” was chosen based on a survey of Shrewsbury officers, but originally the name was both Brownell’s and Anderson’s favorite. Although the name “Blue” represents the color associated with law enforcement, there is more to the name, Shrewsbury police said.

“My thought behind the name Blue was that the color blue obviously represents the police, but the dog is also meant to help people who are depressed. Maybe they need some comfort or something to lift their spirits. These dogs are known to lower blood pressure, reduce stress and help people with PTSD. They will help the entire community,” Anderson said.

When the Community Advocate saw Blue, she was about the size of a shoebox and was still learning to walk down stairs. However, Shrewsbury Police expect her to grow to about knee height and weigh 40 to 50 pounds. Before she is fully certified, she will go through four six-week training sessions, including basic puppy training, “good canine citizen” training, therapy dog ​​training, and socialization and environmental exposure training.

Blue will have the opportunity to meet community members during her training, Brownell and Anderson said.

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Aside from being so sweet and interacting with the community, Blue will perform many different tasks for the department. Blue can provide comfort to people during investigations involving families or children. If a tragic incident occurs in the city, Blue could step in and offer support to community members. The dog will also provide comfort to first responders.

As a member of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team for Central Massachusetts (CISM) – a resource that helps first responders debrief and discuss critical incidents after the fact to help them recover from traumatic events – Brownell hopes that Blue will provide comfort and stress relief to personnel who may be going through a difficult time.

“When a critical incident occurs in a department … the administration asks officers if they would like to speak with peer support members like myself and others. That goes to the Critical Incident Stress Management Team. We go there, discuss the incident and talk to them. It’s scientifically proven that talking about traumatic stress can alleviate mental health issues,” Brownell said.

Brownell said that as a school representative, she also expects great interest from students.

“They’ve already gotten wind of it. They’re already preparing to get passports and see her. She’s going to be a good tool for them,” she said.