Rowan Co. Sheriff’s Office welcomes first therapy dog to K-9 force

SALISBURY, N.C. — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has announced their four-legged newest recruit: a golden retriever named Sandy, according to our partners at The Salisbury Post.

She is the first therapy dog for the county’s K-9 police force. She finished training at the Tractor Supply Co. store on Friday alongside her handler, Deputy Chris Fleming.

Since Sandy has now completed her training and passed her therapy dog certification, she is now ready to begin work, Captain David Earnhardt told The Post. She will be working in both outreach and therapy for deputies.

The Post reports that Sandy’s certification testing was held at the Tractor Supply Co. store so the tester could tell if she was well-behaved around other dogs and large crowds of people.

Sandy was trained by a private dog trainer but was given to Fleming a week before the test so they could bond.

Earnhardt told The Post that Sandy will mainly work in outreach, supporting child victims of crimes, stressed first-time offenders, and going to schools to help students and anyone else who may need her support.

We knew they needed one. I was talking to Captain Earnhardt, and we were talking about Magnolia, the bloodhound. We sponsored her, and then we were talking about their needs as a department, and we realized that they also needed a therapy dog,” Salisbury NC Kennel Club President Bob Busby told The Post.

(WATCH BELOW: Burke County training therapy dog to work with 911 dispatchers)

Burke County training therapy dog to work with 911 dispatchers

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