Vandalia police add energetic Portuguese Water Dog for staff wellness
Bo, a 3-year-old Portuguese Water Dog, joined Vandalia police as a support K-9, trading patrol work for wellness, outreach and crisis support.
Bo is Vandalia police’s newest K-9, but he is not headed into the usual patrol role. The three-year-old Portuguese Water Dog has joined the Vandalia Police Department as a support K-9 whose main job is employee wellness, giving staff a way to decompress, connect and reset inside a demanding profession.
That mission also sends Bo beyond the station door. He is expected to appear at city events, youth outreach programs and regional crisis incidents, a mix that gives Vandalia police a calm, approachable presence in settings where public contact matters. For a department that emphasizes proactive, problem-oriented policing, a support dog like Bo fits a model built around solving problems before they harden into bigger ones.
The breed choice makes sense for a role built on energy and people skills. The American Kennel Club describes the Portuguese Water Dog as affectionate, adventurous and athletic, and places the breed in its Working Group. The breed standard also points to stamina and a seafaring background, noting the dogs were prized by fishermen for their spirited but obedient nature and for their ability to work in and out of the water. That combination of drive, focus and sociability lines up with a dog expected to move easily from office visits to community gatherings.
Bo’s arrival also reflects a broader wellness shift in law enforcement. The National Institute of Justice says safety and wellness for criminal justice personnel includes promoting good physical and mental health, and NIJ-funded research has examined station-dog programs and their impact on agency wellness and community relationships. Those efforts come against a difficult backdrop, with NIJ research noting poor health outcomes in law enforcement linked to stress, burnout, depression and substance use disorders.
Officer magazine has likewise reported that agencies are increasingly turning to emotional support dogs to help officers manage mental health, including the New York Police Department’s addition of two support dogs in 2021. Bo fits that same direction in Vandalia, Ohio, where a high-energy breed has been put to work in a quieter but still essential assignment: helping the people who wear the badge stay steady enough to do the job.
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