The University of Kentucky recently welcomed the newest member of their campus police force, a therapy dog named Oliver. Community affairs officer, Amy Boatman read a lot about therapy dogs and how they can help victims who may be non-verbal or struggle with mental health issues.

Boatman said, “Ultimately for victims and witnesses that are having a really hard time with questioning or anything like that, he’s just a great tool”.

According to The University of Kentucky’s website “Officers obviously witness traumatic events, and Oliver helps officers deal with those events, Boatman said.

“We respond to those scenes and we deal with that,” Boatman said. “So he not only helps with (student) stress and their issues but he also helps with the officers.”

Boatman wrote her 50-page master’s thesis on the use of therapy animals in university police departments. She contacted other law enforcement groups that use therapy dogs and conducted extensive research on the success of those animals.

Her research became a reality as Oliver joined the UKPD force, which already has three canines– two bomb-sniffing dogs and one narcotics dog.”