MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Daisy, the newest hire at the Manchester-by-the-Sea Police Department, has already made her mark.
The 5-month-old female, yellow Labrador retriever reported for duty April 17. She’s partnered with Officer Andrea Locke, the department’s school resource officer.
Daisy will live with Locke, her husband, her two children and the family dog, Rudy.
“She is adapting,” Locke said. “We’re just working on basic commands so far. She barks but she’s right at home. She’s very calm and loves people.”
Daisy’s job will be to provide general support for Manchester Essex Regional School District students, faculty and staff, and for the town’s senior citizens.
She’ll also serve as a “department ambassador” in the downtown area, including Masconomo Park, especially during community events.
“While a comfort dog can create positive interactions within a community, it also can greatly assist with our public safety work,” Police Chief Todd Fitzgerald said. “A dog can be a calming influence when we meet with a child victim or witness, provide a sense of comfort during a mental health intervention, and reduce the stress felt by residents during a critical incident.”
Fitzgerald described Daisy as having a “great temperament.”
“That’s what they’re bred for,” he said. “It’s not only for the schools, but for the elderly, too. So far, it has worked out well.”
Training for Daisy will take place for two weeks, starting the second week of July at Professional Canine Services in Middleboro. After that, she will have follow up visits to confirm the commands and skills she has learned, Lt. Mark McCoy said.
“It just makes the relationship better between the police and the public,” he said of Daisy’s presence.
But sightings of Daisy out and about in Manchester-by-the-Sea may take some time. Locke and other Manchester Police officers want to ease her into public appearances — especially at the Manchester Essex Regional School District schools.
“We want to be low key,” Locke said. “We don’t want her to be overwhelmed. She takes it all in. She does bark.”
Manchester Essex Regional High School first-year students Cate Vendt and Scarlett Lee proposed the idea for a comfort dog at the high school to Locke. Then the two met later with Fitzgerald and McCoy to formally pitch their idea. That meeting was followed by a presentation to the Select Board, which approved the idea April 16.
The Manchester Essex Regional School Committee is slated to consider the plan for the comfort dog during its May 21 meeting.
The cost to buy and train Daisy will total about $6,200, Fitzgerald said, and eventually there will be a swearing-in ceremony for the dog.
McCoy is working with Hooper Fund officials to secure financial support for the initial costs of purchasing Daisy and for training. Additional financial support for the dog was provided by a gift from the Manchester Essex Regional High School Class of 2024, the Manchester Masons Lodge, the Manchester Rotary Club and resident Ralph Bates. Contributions of dog food and supplies were made by the Essex County Co-Op and Crosby’s Market.
The comfort dog program will be financed, in part, by the Police Department’s account with North Shore Health Outreach for mental health programming and its K-9 allocation.
Although Daisy is the Police Department’s first comfort dog, she is its second canine. The town’s first and only K-9, Kato, a German shepherd, joined the force in 2014 and retired in 2018 when his human partner went to work for another police agency.
Kato and his partner located missing people, discovered illegal narcotics, tracked criminals together, worked as part of the Cape Ann Regional Response Team, and appeared on the NBC television show “American Ninja Warrior.” K-9 Kato is enjoying his golden years as ambassador for the nonprofit K9 PTSD Center of Seekonk, a therapeutic center for dogs who have worked in law enforcement and the military.
Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or [email protected].
By Stephen Hagan | Staff Writer
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