Meet Holly the comfort dog!
Not only is Holly a good girl, she is a busy one. Since joining the Portsmouth Police department, and riding alongside her handler Police Officer Westley Lemar, Holly has been busy attending lacrosse games, reading events at the Portsmouth Public Library, and providing joy and comfort to children at Portsmouth Middle School and beyond. Holly's training was entirely paid for by community donations (a big shout out to Clement's Market!) and her overall upkeep and any additional training will continue to be funded by donations. Needless to say, Holly has been a wonderful addition to the Aquidneck Island community, and has provided children with a way to destress and decompress, even when other forms of help haven't been as effective. Who doesn't want a little bit of puppy love!
How old is Holly now?
A little over a year and a half, she'll be two in July. She's still pretty young. When we get home, she's got more energy than all these kids combined!
You already have a dog at home. How is that interaction?
Oh, she's obsessed with him. He's going to be five next month, so he's not old, but he's getting a little up there. Yeah, but he'll he'll wrestle and stuff. Just something. She's a little much for him. Sometimes he'll be like, all right, enough. I'm going to take a nap. But, uh, she's just completely in love with him.
Did you know that she would be living with you?
I wasn't sure how this whole thing was going to go when I first pushed it. Yeah, I kind of figured that a dog would live with me. I just I didn't want to get a puppy because a lot of people around here had puppies, and I just didn't have the time or energy to train a puppy. As much as I love puppies, I just wasn't sure about that. I was pretty sure she was going to come home with me. I wasn't sure how he [his other dog] was going to take it.
They are very much like kids, you love them, but you also know when you have reached you limit of how many you can have.
Two is is my limit too [laughs], I'm good with that.
How did this whole process start?
This is my second year and sometime at the end of last year/ beginning of this year, we just had a casual conversation with the school [Portsmouth Middle School], talking about comfort dogs and what not, and kind of word made way to my department that I was talking about it. I got a call into someone's office and they said, "Hey, we know you're talking about it and the chief's all for it. He's with you if you want to do this." you can go.
I started kind of just googling and looking into different companies that do the trainings and what not. And when I went to a comfort dog symposium at Brown University, I found out about this organization, Puppies Behind Bars. They told me about it and how they get the puppies and they raise them in prisons and train them there. And when they're ready, I go to New York for two weeks, train with them, and I bring her back. And I thought that was absolutely perfect because, like I said, I just I didn't want a puppy, and it saved a lot of money with all donations. I actually planned on doing this next year. I thought I was gonna have the dog ready for next year, but I emailed Puppies Behind Bars and they said in November, "Yeah, we have a class in January." So things went super, super quick, but it's worked out so well. I mean, she's been huge impact on the school.
Is she going to go to all the different schools or just Portsmouth Middle School?
All the elementary schools too. I bounce around.
Can you walk me through a normal day with her?
So I come in around 7/730 am. A normal day is kind of tough because every day something different. Sometimes, I'll go into certain classrooms and because she was new, I introduce her, talk about her, show off a few of her commands. She's got like, 40 commands, so I do about 7 or 8 for the kids in the class. I let them pet her, and I'll do that in 6 or 7 classrooms a day. Other times I have the social workers send me a schedule of certain kids they think really need Holly for the day, for therapy session. Today, one of the kids who earned points for one of our clubs gets to sit with her and play fetch with her. Two weeks ago, I was at one of the schools and Holly and I read a book to one of the kids. It really depends on who emails me first and gets to me is kind of how we schedule it.
I assume she must be in high demand
She's in very high demand here. I keep telling myself I have to get a planner for her so that I can remember everything. It's unbelievable that just when people see her, their faces just light up.
That's awesome. I mean, for you, it must be really interesting going into these schools and just kind of getting that interaction with her and the kids. That must bring you a lot of joy on a daily basis.
I'm a huge dog person, so that was incredible, and yeah, whenever I walk in in the morning, it's every staff member. They just light up, and come and pet Holly. And then the kids come in and do the same thing. It's just huge. The principal was telling me that it's a huge game changer just to have a dog in the school. Even the police station, whenever people see her, the morale just boosts when she's in the room.
The last question is what does she like to do during the off time like on the weekends and and after hours?
That's a good question and important question. So actually during school hours I give her between 20 and 30 minutes of fetch time outside. I take a long lunch so she can, you know, just be a dog. When we're at home, I actually live near a school in Westport. and there's a big field there. She likes to play fetch. We go to dog parks that she loves. When the weather gets warmer, she's a big swimmer, so I have to take her on some hikes around lakes. She loves the water.
You can follow Holly on Facebook here and follow her on Instagram @comfortdogholly! Donations can be made out to and/or dropped off to the Portsmouth Police Department.
