Ever notice how 99.9 per cent of human beings feel a thousand times better when there’s a gentle dog around?
Think about it.
Mélanie Bédard did.
And she ran with it.
A 17-year-veteran of the Sherbrooke police department in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Bédard pitched the idea of bringing a so-called comfort dog to the force.
Her bosses agreed. In late May, Canada’s 13th police department comfort dog joined the Sherbrooke police force.
His name is Kanak, he is a black Labrador and he is Godsend for abused children who–already suffering–might not otherwise open up to police officers or who might panic when they testify in court.
In short, Kanak accompanies children who have experienced trauma through every step of the legal system.
Comfort dogs have been used in police work in the United States for 25 years and since 2010 in the rest of Canada, but Kanak is the first in Quebec.
For more about Kanak, what he does, and how he does it, I spoke to Bédard by phone on Monday.
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