Marion County Sheriff's Office gets therapy dog

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office now has a four-legged friend to comfort victims of violent or sensitive crimes.

Lily, a 5-year-old female Beagle/Corgi mix, will serve as a therapy dog for the sheriff’s office.

Lily was rescued from a euthanasia shelter and enrolled in the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s “Paws & Stripes College.” It’s an eight-week course where dogs learn obedience skills and some will move to more training to serve as PTSD dogs, therapy dogs and child victim advocate dogs.

Lily has been with the sheriff’s office since May.

Lily will work Det. Janeen Henley-Freeman on adult and children DCF investigations, missing persons, sex crimes, child abductions and child exploitation internet crimes assisting the victims of the crimes.

“We’ve seen an enormous difference since we began using Lily to help us with our more sensitive investigations,” said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods. “We’ve had children who have experienced horrific crimes open up to us because Lily made them feel comfortable. When Lily walks into a room, she brings a sense of joy and comfort with her, and we know she will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our crime victims in Marion County.”

Cox Media Group