Moline therapy dog ready for paw patrol

Moline’s newest K-9 officer went through some behind-the-scenes training to get ready for the job.

Pepper a bluetick coonhound met the members of the Moline Police Department Thursday morning. She went through 12 weeks of training to become a therapy dog.

Pepper came to the quad cities last December from Florida.

As a trained therapy dog Pepper will comfort kids in foster care and it’s all thanks to a partnership with the center for youth and family solutions.

Although Pepper and her handler Detective Kara Larson from the Moline Police Department have not started their official patrol duty yet, she is optimistic that Pepper will make a positive impact on the community.

“Everyone is going through their own struggles and what not and it’s good just to have something such as pepper there to comfort the kids and just to be there for them to talk to her just to have a listening ear, but there’s been test and studies done that therapy dogs just have that positive effect just to help calm people and help them through their struggles,” said Larson.

Pepper’s handlers and the center of youth and family solutions program director, Nichole Sodawasser expects Pepper to help a lot of people.

“Dogs they have a very calming effect. Studies show that kids being interviewed by children’s advocacy centers disclose at a higher rate and share at a higher rate than those who don’t as well as what we know about animals and just that comfort that comes with them,” said Sodawasser.

Pepper will also assist her handler at forensic interviews involving kids, visiting schools, and comforting first responders after traumatic events.

As a social worker therapy dogs like Pepper play a vital role in Sodawasser’s line of work.

“It is amazing to me some of the things that we’ve seen happen not just with Pepper, but with other therapy dogs. Kids and even adults that won’t normally talk, they won’t open up they really struggle in therapy sessions and will talk to the dog. So they’re super valuable as therapy animals,” said Sodawasser.

Pepper and Detective Larson are set to begin community patrol duty soon.