“Who doesn’t love a dog?”
That is the hope and belief of Lauren Perez, the Lake Forest Police Department social worker, who now has a four-legged partner named Winston. The St. Bernard is in training to be the department’s first comfort dog.
While the department has had dogs to assist with criminal investigations, Perez lobbied the administration for the acquisition of a dog to serve in a new role. Specifically, he could offer some assistance for both residents and officers.
The department supervisors approved the idea as they saw a need for Winston noting there were 538 mental health calls in the area last year. The hope is Winston will provide emotional comfort, assist officer wellness and support community engagement.
“There’s no question that police work takes a toll on emotional wellbeing,” Police Chief John Burke said in a statement. “This comfort dog program is an important step forward – not just in how we support our team, but in how we connect with and care for the Lake Forest community.”
Perez envisions Winston will respond to crisis calls if she has to respond to death notifications. He will also be a resource for a scared or injured child in any high stress situation.
“He’s a calming presence sometimes,” Perez said of the brown-and-white mongrel with a nose peppered by freckles. “He is the gateway if someone is having a hard time to talk to me about it.”
The road to getting Winston started when Perez researched what breed would be appropriate in the “comfort” dog role. She eventually selected a St. Bernard due to their calm temperament and good interaction with humans.
The next task was finding a dog to adopt and Perez located a breeder in downstate Metcalf. In May, she drove down and picked up the puppy, who was born March 19. He now stays with her both at the police department and with the Perez family that already had a black Labrador Retriever.
“When he comes here, he is like my partner,” she said.
Upon the adoption, the city held a naming contest open to all residents, including children, with “Winston” emerging as the top vote-getter of several options.
Winston has yet to make his full debut to the Lake Forest community as he is currently in training. Perez said that it would take several months as he gets used to tasks such as riding in the police cars.
“We are just getting him comfortable with the day-to-day of what it will look like when he is fully trained,” Perez said.
She concedes it is a slow process with obedience being a crucial step.
“Once he gets through obedience training everything else will come naturally because he will respond to commands and he will stay near me and he won’t run off. He will be very docile and follow instructions once we get out,” Perez said.
Eventually, Winston will have to be certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs to serve in the everyday role. Perez believes that will come next year after he reaches his first birthday.
Besides training, he has a lot of growing to do. In late June he weighed 33 pounds, with Perez anticipating he will be anywhere from 150 to 180 pounds when fully grown.
For now, Perez is enjoying working with Winston, anticipating he will be an effective community resource, noting some neighboring communities use comfort dogs.
“I just believe that animal-assisted therapy is really beneficial,” she said. “It breaks barriers.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
