AMHERST, N.Y. — The Amherst Police Department welcomed a new Community Engagement and Support Canine named Manny.
He will have several missions to perform once he is trained.
Scott Chamberlin is the Amherst Police Department's Chief. He said, "Policing is a stressful job, so officers deal with a lot of stress, day to day, call to call, so it's important they have support, No. 1, from the department and through mental health counseling and availability."
Manny will be able to create positive connections. He will work not only inside the department comforting officers, including "critical incidents," but also outside the department.
He will be able to provide emotional support for for citizens who are in a crisis or offer comfort to victims of crime.
David Solak is Manny's handler.
"We've had other canines, but he's going to have a different role once he's fully trained," Solak said. "He'll do a lot of work with the community, a lot of work hopefully with victims and in critical incidents, and just support the PD's mission in general. "
Manny was made possible with the help of the Devin Waring Foundation. Tracy Waring is the president of the foundation.
"At 17, my son Devin committed suicide, and it was like a two-by-four upside our head. We didn't talk about anything. So, then we decided to start a foundation to talk about it and start spreading awareness to mental health," Waring said.
The mission of the not-for-profit organization is to raise awareness about mental health and suicide.
"When we lost Devin, we had a black lab at the time, and I know how the black lab counseled our family. I thought, why not try and get a therapy dog into a local police department?" Waring said.
Waring said Devin's dad was a law enforcement officer for 30 years.
"I saw how that dog counseled him and our family. I know when these men and women are out on their calls, and they see the tragedies, and they go back to the station, they go home at night, who counsels them? That's the angle I really wanted to come in at and really be there for the officers as well as the community," she said.
Waring and the officers at the Amherst Police Department said they can already feel Manny's impacts.
"Not really an emotional person, but this definitely touches my heart. It makes me speechless. I've been here a couple of times just to see him interacting, and it's wonderful. It's heartwarming."
Solak said, "When [Manny] walks into a room, he basically lights up the room. His positive impact is constant. I'll still be on the road, I'll still be doing a lot of the things I've always done, but now I have a partner." He added, "I knew of this type of a program, and I knew the effect it had. To see it firsthand was very powerful."
The Devin Waring Foundation also provides support for schools as well as offer educational resources.
