Cali the comfort dog returns to visiting Cranston schools
CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — Cali, a beloved comfort dog and member of the Cranston Police Department, has returned to visiting schools across the city for the first time since mid-October after a pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We just put her back into schools this week,” Detective Michael Iacone of the Special Victims Unit told NBC 10 News. “Wednesday was her first day back.”
Iacone said Cali is popular with schoolchildren, with he and the dog making recent stops at Waterman Elementary School and E.S. Rhodes Elementary.
During their visit, Cali spent some time in a self-contained classroom with special education teachers and their students.
Photos show children petting Cali and enjoying her company.
“We wanted to get her into the non-verbal classrooms and the kids love her,” Iacone said.
Cali, who is an Australian Labradoodle, was the first comfort dog working at a police station in Rhode Island. She’s fully certified and absolutely adorable.
But not only is she cute, cuddly, and calming, Iacone said she serves several important purposes.
She joined the police force about 2-and-a-half years ago when she was 8-weeks-old, and often helps Iacone and fellow SVU detectives by soothing victims, many whom have been physically or sexually assaulted.
The dog is there for victims to pet, feed, or just sit with as police interview them.
“She can be a distraction as they are talking about something,” Iacone said. “It kind of takes their mind off whatever they are coming here to talk to us about. It redirects their mind to something positive.”
The dog’s presence, combined with her trained skills, create a safe atmosphere.
“Whether it’s a child or adult victim, they are talking about one of the worst or most traumatic events of their life,” Iacone said. “You can imagine how hard that is trying to explain to a stranger. Now, you’re a child coming to a police station, which is intimidating, so we want them to come here. We have special rooms that don’t look like interview rooms, and then we went one step further and said, ‘Let’s get a dog.’”
When Cali’s not with Iacone and his friends at the police department, she’s assisting Dr. Christine Barron, who is the director of the Lawrence A. Aubin Child Protection Center.
Created through Hasbro Children’s Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University in 1996, the program provides services for abused and neglected children.
Iacone said Barron is a specialist that deals with kids who have witnessed or endured heinous crimes.
“They’ve seen the worst of the worst,” he said.
That’s why Cali, he said, is on hand to help.
Still, he said, the pandemic has posed a few problems.
Children have been isolated from many of their loved ones, including family and friends, and educators, creating confusion and fear.
“Kids are not in a good place right now,” Iacone said. “Kids are on edge.”
He said the schoolchildren were all excited to see Cali during visits, but some are still stuck at home.
While he said reports for abuse have been lately, he anticipates there will be a spike as soon more schools return to in-person learning.
“Kids don’t have that outlet,” Iacone said. “There will be a huge influx of cases once kids go back to school.”
But, he said, he is hopeful.
He is reminded of all the positive work Cali does and continues to do.
Aside from calming victims and visiting schools, she has also worked with authorities to prepare children for upcoming trials.
“It helps them take their mind off the situation as they prepare to testify and confront their abuser in court,” he said.
Eventually, Iacone said he hopes to see her accompany children to court.
“It’s a goal we have,” he said.
In meantime, she’ll be visiting more schools and meeting as many kids as possible.
“We just try to get her out there as much as we can,” Iacone said.
