“He’s very in tune with me, even when he socializes with other people, he’s always looking back at me,” said handler Clinton Police Officer Brian Corbin.
As among the most recent Clinton Police Department hires, the black and tan German Shepherd is the town’s very first treatment dog.
The 87 pound canine is equipped with a vest emblazoned with “I’M A RESCUE” above his Clinton Police Department spot. In addition, his collar boldly printed with “THERAPY DOG” makes it clear he works to do.
Jagger goes to roll call every day and is “paid” in treats.
“He works for it, and he loves it,” said Corbin, as he gets a morsel and Jagger excitedly accepts it.
“That’s how I motivate him to have all these positive interactions with people,” he said. “He gets rewarded.”
Jagger’s life has actually not been simple. Now in between 2 and 3-years-old, he has actually resided in 4 various houses.
His early life is uncertain. All of his documents remains in Czech so Corbin understands he was born overseas; concerning the United States he was positioned in a home where he was abused.
He was taken by the Connecticut State Police and positioned in the Clinton pound.
“Our K-9 officer fell in love with him,” said Corbin. “He noticed that his canine was aging, thought that he would be a good fit for a patrol dog.”
“He was quickly vetted, and it just turned out that he doesn’t have what it takes,” he said. “He’s just too nice.”
The existing K-9, Sonny, is set to retire and handler Cpl. Jason Frey is training 2-year-old Monte to be next in line. Monte was called in honor of Bristol Police Lt. Dustin DeMonte, who was killed in the line of task in October 2022.
It all exercised completely. The department was checking out a treatment dog program and Jagger was the best fit.
The program is absolutely moneyed by contributions.
Superior Canine Services dealt with Jagger for 3 weeks to prepare him for his brand-new function.
He is accredited each year and goes to training 4 times a year.
Jagger and Corbin have 4 goals: officers’ health, peer assistance, social work efforts and victim services.
As the School Resource Officer, Corbin and Jagger spend the academic year in between The Morgan School, Jared Eliot Middle School and Lewin G. Joel School.
“The kids love him,” said Corbin. “I would not have been able to get him to where he is now without the kids.”
“I would tell the students, ‘Hey, listen, you can absolutely pet him, but just go slow with him,’” he said.
“They were so receptive to it and they were so understanding,” he said. “They were slow with him and now he’s really come out of his shell and he’s so comfortable at the schools.”
“He’s neutral,” said Corbin. “He’s not afraid, but he’s also not jumping on people. He’s just calm. You could just pet him all day and he’ll lay there.”
Corbin said this is what makes Jagger a best treatment dog.
Police Chief Vincent DeMaio said is delighted that the program has actually been so favorably received in the schools.
“It’s been a smash hit,” he said. “The student body, they all love the dog. The administrators love it, the staff loves it.”
“It’s brought down the temperature in a lot of situations,” he said. “Not only at Morgan, but throughout the district.”
Corbin remembered a specific scenario with a primary trainee “having a rough day.”
“Once the situation was under control with the staff and myself, then I brought him in,” said Corbin, describing Jagger.
“It took the attention off of the situation and onto him (Jagger),” he said. “So, the student no longer was thinking about the episode. He (Jagger) was a good distraction.”
Currently, Corbin is dealing with setting up a Hot N’ Pop System in his police car so that Jagger can accompany him on day-to-day calls.
Corbin said he requires to make certain that Jagger is constantly safe inside the vehicle.
“If it reaches a certain temperature, the windows roll down, the fan turns on and the sirens go off,” he said. “If it gets to another temperature, above that, the door automatically pops open, so he can escape.”
A $3,900 contribution from Westbrook’s Coastal Concepts moneyed this equipment.
Business owner Travis Brestelli spoke about the contribution and the value of Jagger’s work.
“Implementing him in the school system as a therapy dog and someone that can go in the classrooms, I think is a great way to kind of soften the image of policing in the schools and let kids learn that officers are humans, and their partners have much more purpose than just doing bite work and the patrol work,” he said.
In the future, Jagger will be used in various methods throughout town.
“A lot of times we’re called to the scenes of heavy trauma or abuse or loss and looking at a cop in a uniform, we take for granted that it’s kind of an imposing sight,” DeMaio said.
“But bring a dog in and it just kind of brings everything right down,” he said. “People have that connection with these dogs that it really kind of breaks the ice. It provides support and it really helps to defuse a lot of situations.”
In addition, DeMaio said, Jagger assists the department “reach out to a different part of the community that might not normally approach us.”
This might consist of “school age kids and teenagers that may not normally approach us,” DeMaio said.
“They see us with the dog, they’ll come up, they’ll pet the dog, start to have a conversation,” he said. “It’s a nice way to open up avenues of communication to another demographic.”
Corbin credits the neighborhood with the development that Jagger has actually made.
“I think a lot of people here at the PD and in the community take pride in seeing how much progress he’s made,” said Corbin, “from the very beginning, just a sheltered, little cautious dog, to now just briming with confidence, only because of all the positive interactions that he’s had here and at the school.”
Contact Sarah Page Kyrcz at [email protected]
