Teddy the Terp is short, friendly and chocolate brown 鈥� and he’s the newest member of the University of Maryland-College Park鈥檚 police department.
Teddy is a chocolate Labrador, and he has a special assignment as a comfort K-9 on the force.
鈥淗e has these amazing green eyes,鈥� said Maj. Carolyn Consoli, who runs the department鈥檚 comfort dog program. 鈥淲ho wouldn鈥檛 love him?鈥�
The department recently acquired the 4-month-old pure bred. He will undergo one year of obedience and comfort training to help people dealing with anxiety, depression or trauma.
After his training is complete, officers will take him on tough assignments, such as suicide calls, said Chief David Mitchell.
鈥淗e鈥檒l be able to detect somebody that鈥檚 under stress,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淵ou can imagine someone, who鈥檚 unfortunately the victim of a crime, when we visit with Teddy, it鈥檚 going to say we care about you.鈥�
The department modeled its nascent comfort dog program after the University of Maryland-Baltimore County鈥檚 program. Mitchell said having Teddy aboard is just the beginning.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working on a program, where we will respond to mental health concerns with a trained psychologist or mental health worker,” Mitchell said.
The department is now considering bringing in a second therapy dog.
Master Police Officer Melissa Fischer is Teddy鈥檚 handler. She walks him around campus to get him acclimated to the grounds and the students. She also takes him to university events.
Officers have started passing out baseball cards with the pup鈥檚 picture and things he likes to do on campus.
“It is an introduction to the comfort dog in case students need to puppy love,鈥� Consoli said.
Officers say Teddy will most likely get the most calls for comfort as midterm and final exams draw near. Teddy also has an email address, and students will be able to request him.
鈥淲e have 40,000 students, around midterms and exams, I promise you they鈥檙e stressed out,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淲hen you have Teddy with you, they want to come over and say, 鈥楬ey, let me pet your dog.鈥欌��
