When police officers respond to non-emergency phone call it can sometimes be difficult for people to open up. But the Superior Police Department have a new plan to help people feel more at ease. Meet Officer Millie, Superior Police Department‘s new therapy dog-in-training. She will help Officer Jen Stank with her duties as a Crisis Response Specialist.

“She’ll be five months old next week, so she’s definitely still a puppy and still does puppy things,” Officer Stank said. “She helps break down some barriers by opening up communication.”

Millie will be helping with phone calls concerning mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse issues. But before Officer Millie can go out on patrol, she needed to make a quick stop at Bryant Elementary to meet with some excited 2nd graders.

“There’s definitely a working Millie and an at home Millie. I have two boys at home and she definitely likes to play with them and she gets a little wild. So it’s kind of fun to see her recognize the difference. When she’s at work, she’s a little bit more calm. Then when she’s at home, her personality comes out a little bit more, but she’s still sweet at home too.”

You might be asking why is Millie needed? There are other k9-units at the Superior Police Department. Well, Superior‘s Mayor Jim Paine says Millie’s role covers several aspects of being a public safety officer. These range from crisis response and mental health calls, or making kids feel comfortable talking with police officers.

“Millie works for the whole city. So she will be working directly with our Coordinated Response Specialist in the police department,” Mayor Paine said. “But she can be deployed by the police department, by the fire department, and we’ll put her in parades. We will put her in people in their darkest moments.”

Mayor Paine also says as soon as Millie turns one year old in about seven months she’ll finish her training. Then she will be ready to help make a difference for residents in Superior.

“Millie’s job is to deploy right away, bring comfort, bring peace, bring friendship, bring love. She can help us reach out to people that are uncomfortable talking to law enforcement,” Mayor Paine said. “Also other folks that work for government or maybe uncomfortable talking to people at all. She’s an ambassador for the city of Superior to the community. We hope everybody gets a chance to meet Millie.”

If people want to get a chance to meet Millie, Mayor Paine says she might make an appearance at Superior’s Spooktacular parade later in October.