Paws on Patrol: First Comfort K9 Nationwide Joins School of Public Safety
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 (MVC) has welcomed a new team member to its School of Public Safety 鈥� and he鈥檚 got four legs, a tail, and a nose for compassion.
Eros will be based at the Ben Clark Training Center and is the first comfort K-9 assigned to a School of Public Safety nationwide. The program focuses on scent-based crisis intervention and is designed to support the mental health of students, faculty and college employees鈥� particularly those preparing for careers as first responders.
鈥淔uture public safety professionals face extraordinary stress both in training and in the field,鈥� said Phil Rawlings, dean of instruction at the School of Public Safety. 鈥淭his program is one step toward building emotional resilience into their preparation.鈥�
Comfort K-9s are not typical therapy animals. They are trained to assist in critical incident responses, grief processing, and stress-related events. Eros will also take part in classroom visits, presentations and district-wide mental health outreach.
Handlers undergo more than 300 hours of training over four months, including risk management, scent-response work and continued mental health education. Twice a month, Eros will visit the main MVC campus to support additional employees and students.
The program is part of a three-year pilot. In the third year, the college plans to evaluate data and explore expanding the initiative to include a second K-9 focused on veterans at the MVC campus.
鈥淚ntroducing Eros reflects our college鈥檚 commitment to holistic education,鈥� said Rawlings. 鈥淢ental health isn't a side concern 鈥� it's foundational to learning and leadership, especially in fields as demanding as public safety.鈥�
Working Dogs for Warriors, founded in 2016 by veteran Mike Welsh, provides service dogs to first responders and veterans at no initial cost. Welsh鈥檚 wife is a graduate of the Ben Clark Training Center.
The total value of a donated K-9 ranges from $12,000 to $14,000. Ongoing annual training costs are estimated at $12,000, and veterinary care and food are covered through a combination of college reimbursement and owner contributions.
To learn more about what Comfort K9s, .
To donate to the program, please visit the giving page.
Follow Eros鈥� journey and meet the newest member of the MVC family on Instagram: . There are already a dozen tail-wagging photos to like and share.