Pilot program to have paws-itive impact

North West Metro Region (NWMR) has today welcomed six peer support dogs to its ranks to provide employees with invaluable wellbeing support.

As part of the region’s 12-month Peer Support Dog Pilot Program, two labrador retrievers (Zeus and Eliza), a Samoyed (Milli), Australian shepherd (Ace), staffy (Jax), German shorthaired pointer (Gidget) and their police parents will visit stations and work units across all NWMR divisions on a rotating basis.

The initiative, led by Acting Superintendent Amanda Bowden and NWMR Health Safety and Wellbeing, is the second of it's kind among Australian emergency service agencies and has been designed in line with the highly successful peer support dog program at Ambulance Victoria with the goal of having the same positive impact on employee’s mental health.

Having worked with peer support dogs in the past, A/Supt Bowden has seen the impact of their presence firsthand and can attest to their ability to break down barriers between employees and peer support staff.

“When we lost our police members in the 2020 Kew collision, I thought there’s got to be something I can do to help. So in my role within Road Policing Command at the time, I got in touch with Welfare Services and Fire Rescue Victoria, who have Ember (a peer support dog), and we did some station visits with Ember and her handler Natalie to meet with some of the directly impacted work units,"  A/Supt Bowden said.

“After seeing how Ember was able to help spark conversations between our employees and welfare staff, I knew we needed to get a program up and running. Her impact was just so powerful.”

To ensure all dogs chosen to take part in the program were able to provide the best possible support to employees, the selection process was facilitated by a canine behaviouralist.

The six dogs who were selected all displayed similar qualities, including resilience, eagerness to approach new environments, and welcoming body language.

“The dogs are just beautiful,” A/Supt Bowden said.

“They’re all really well behaved, comfortable in unfamiliar environments and love being around people, making them perfect for the job.”

While some of the dogs who passed the selection process belong to NWMR police members who are already peer support qualified, the remaining dogs belong to other members who put their hand up for the role and have received initial peer support training through the Peer Support Program.

From mid-September, the six police members will spend up to two shifts per fortnight working with their dogs, providing general welfare support, advice and referrals in workplaces and stations, as well as support at critical incident debriefs.

“The goal of the program is to try and stop people falling through the cracks,” A/Supt Bowden said.

“It’s for the wellbeing of all employees in the region – but especially for those who, without the dogs and their peer support-qualified handlers, might not otherwise get the welfare support and intervention they need.

“Even if the program prevents just one employee from going off work and gives them access to help, then that’s a fantastic outcome.”