Compassion dog Rosie making Roosevelt Middle School home – SouthCoastToday.com

NEW BEDFORD — “This is a swearing-in ceremony,” New Bedford Police Lt. Scott Carola explained to the small audience of students, school staff and others who’d gathered in the Roosevelt Middle School library for Friday’s occasion. “Whenever there is a police officer or anybody that wears a badge that comes onto a department in service of others, we swear them in; they have to pledge an oath.
“So that’s something that we take pretty seriously….”
As New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira and others prepared to say a few words leading up to the big moment, the soon-to-be inductee used those few precious minutes to nap.
“Rosie is not one to stand on formalities,” joked Carola.
Rosie — an approximately 12-week-old F1BB Goldendoodle — is New Bedford Police Department’s first four-legged member to serve in the role of compassion dog. 
“Animals have abilities and senses that go beyond that of our understanding. Animals can sense the energy and mood shifts in the people around them,” Oliveira said. “Rosie doesn’t track people on the run, she tracks people who need a few moments of peace. Rosie doesn’t sniff out drugs and guns, she sniffs out sadness.
“Rosie not only provides compassion but … she reminds all of us around her to be compassionate ourselves.”
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Rosie’s need to catch some shut-eye on Friday is understandable; after all, it had been a big week for her. According to her handler, School Resource Officer Jeremy Demello, she’d been making the rounds at Roosevelt Middle School with him all week as she became acquainted with her new work environment and the familiar faces she’ll be seeing a lot of going forward.
“Rosie’s first day of work was Monday,” Demello said. “It’s been very good — the kids loved her immediately, the staff maybe even more so. I think I’ve had more people say hi to me than ever before.”
Demello said that Rosie will be stationed with him at Roosevelt Middle School, although there are plans for the duo to visit some of the city’s elementary schools. “I’ll be able to do presentations on how to interact with a dog and what the best practices are,” he said. “Even though she’d never bite or anything like that, it’s good for the kids to know how to approach a dog, to present their hand and let the dog smell — so all those things will be incorporated so it can be a little educational in addition to being a introduction.”
Demello — who’s been with New Bedford police for 17 years and has been a school resource officer for six — had even found a way to give Friday’s swearing-in ceremony a dual-function, using it as a reward for the small group of students he’d picked for the brief break from class to be in attendance. “The core values of the school are being respectful, motivated and successful and the kids here today exemplify those things, everyday doing the right thing, not getting in trouble,” he said. “A lot of them are in my clubs that I run after school. I run a Dungeons and Dragons club, a Magic: The Gathering club, and a Dream Police Academy, and a lot of these kids were in one, two or all three of those groups.”
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When it comes to Rosie’s personality, Demello describes her as well-behaved and laid back as she makes herself at home at the house as well as the school. “She’s a very a good girl,” he said. “She sat the other day on the couch with me and watched ‘Judge Judy’ for two hours.”
Media relations specialist for New Bedford police, Holly Huntoon, was credited and thanked by the chief for her role in searching for and finding Rosie, who came from Cove Angels Breeding in Taunton where she was trained by Kerry Buckley. “I’d been looking for three or four months for a dog and I actually stumbled upon Kerry because South Kingston police just had their newest addition of a compassion dog and I saw they went to Cove Angels Breeding,” Huntoon said, noting Oliveira chose Rosie’s name to reflect her connection to the Roosevelt school. “She’s very highly trained already which shows her intelligence, because she’s only about 12 weeks old.”
While Rosie has yet to be certified as a therapy dog (hence her title as a “compassion” dog), her initial training has prepared her well for the role she’s in, according to Huntoon. “We do plan to certify her down the line but Kerry actually trains them to be therapy dogs, so she’s been in training for this type of work since she was born,” she said. “I think a lot of people will benefit from her and I’m really happy Officer Demello has her because I know he’ll take great care of her.”
Buckley, who was present for the ceremony, received a Chief’s Award for donating Rosie to the department.
Oliveira said if things with Rosie continue to go well, he’d be open to the idea of expanding compassion dog programming in the city. “Expanding is definitely something we’d be looking to explore. It’s good for building relationships, building community trust — it’s what we do. It inspires engagement,” Oliveira told The Standard-Times. “This week has been a huge success. Officer Demello says the whole climate of the school changed once the dog showed up.”
As is customary at the department’s swearing-in ceremonies, the Rev. Dave Lima was present to provide a blessing. Having worked alongside Demello, Lima said Rosie — and Roosevelt Middle School — were in good hands. “He has done so much work in terms of compassion and helping people …. I’ve known him for years and we’ve worked together in the community around people that have suffered, that have had pain; and know he’s experienced it, he’s offered the help for it and now with his new partner Rosie, I know that that’s just going to to go another level.”
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“This is what makes a 21st century police department,” said Ward 6 City Councilor Ryan Pereira, who noted Friday was his first time back inside Roosevelt Middle School since he graduated from there 11 years ago, “— stuff like this that really brings the community together and adds another tool to the toolbag that these fine officers already have.”
In addition to thanking Buckley, and the school department for welcoming Rosie in, Oliveira also noted Mellisa Raposo of Mellisa’s Pet Depot in Dartmouth for donating a “starter package” of supplies for Rosie. 

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