In late 2017, Officer Kathryn Smith of the St. Paul Police Department was called out to rescue a stray mother dog and her puppies that had been hanging out around a farm for a few days. When she arrived, she immediately fell head over heels for one of them.
After bringing all the dogs to safety, Officer Kathryn Smith ended up adopting one of the puppies and lovingly named him Fuzz.
It wasn’t long before Officer Smith brought her new fuzzy puppy to the police department, and soon, the adorable little guy was known as “Sergeant Fuzz.” Of course, everyone that met him couldn’t help but melt at the sight of his cuteness.
“Our chief brings his dog, Stella, in on Fridays, so we thought it’d be nice to have the puppy come in here and there, too,” John Lozoya, senior commander of community engagement for the department, told The Dodo. “He was an instant hit with everyone.”
Given that the police officers have such stressful jobs, they found that when Sgt. Fuzz was around – he had a bit of a calming effect on everyone.
The five-month-old puppy was the perfect, calming distraction for the officers and staff at the station. It was a little break in their day where they could just relax and hang out with an adorable dog for a few minutes.
“He’s very playful but also loves to be cuddled,” Lozoya said. “His personality is very welcoming. He’ll lay down and let anyone pet him right away. He’s a very mellow puppy.”
Soon, the department officially hired Sgt. Fuzz as their “cuddle officer,” working about 10 hours a week while his mom is there.
Throughout his day, Sgt. Fuzz likes to spend his timing hanging out with staff and greeting people. He also enjoys playing fetch, chasing balls, and his absolute favorite thing – cuddling. Since he’s already off to such a great start, the department has plans on enrolling the sweet pup in a therapy dog certification program once he’s old enough.
“We hope one day, when he is a certified therapy dog, he can not only assist with our staff but also with people who have been victimized and are in need of support,” Lozoya said.
It’s going to be a while before Fuzz is an official, certified therapy dog, so until then – he’ll just relish in his title of “cuddle officer.”
“Since the beginning of police and fire departments, animals have always been with us,” Lozoya said. “He’s sort of this new evolution to a working police canine, who just happens to look like a fluffy teddy bear.”
Since the little fuzzy puppy has arrived at the station, they obviously couldn’t help but brag about him on Facebook. Their first Facebook post reads:
“Meet Fuzz.
He’s a therapy dog with the St. Paul Police Community Engagement Unit.
Last week he received his first patch. Yesterday he was promoted to sergeant.
Sgt. Fuzz is committed to hard work and caring for our officers as well as the community.
You can find him at community events such as Safe Summer Nights and visiting with our officers.
Congratulations on the promotion, Fuzz!”
https://www.facebook.com/sppdmn/posts/10156236030094166
It wasn’t long before the community caught wind of this cutie pie and the local news station even wanted to do an interview.
https://www.facebook.com/sppdmn/posts/10156278595649166
You can keep up with Sgt. Fuzz and his cuddling duties on the Saint Paul Police Department’s Facebook page. We see a bright future ahead for this sweet boy!
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