Years ago (and perhaps still), police officers carried stuffed animals in their patrol cars to provide a comforting distraction to children involved in a car accident or during a domestic abuse call.

A pair of police officers “upped” the game in 2013 by bringing along a comfort dog, but this one had a pulse. In 2013, Ch Beric’s Ties That Bind v Gordon, better known as “Officer Clarence.”  Clarence, a 160 pound Saint Bernard, became the first Official Police Comfort Dog in the United States. His owners are not only fanciers, but members of the Greenfield Massachusetts Police Department, Officer Laura Gordon and Deputy Police Chief William Gordon, his handler, who grew up with the breed.

Officer Clarence and Lt. Gordon have been on-site of some of the country’s worst tragedies: Sandy Hook, the Las Vegas shootings, the Boston Marathon, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, and more recently, visiting the US Capitol as Officer William “Billy” Evans’  body lay in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol (Evans was killed in April when a driver crashed a car through a barricade hitting Evans and another officer on the north side of the Capitol complex). At the Capitol,  Clarence comforted members of Congress, as well as Officer Evans’ wife and two children.

Though Clarence’s primary task is to tend to law enforcement officers, there is quite literally enough of Clarence to go around to offer comfort to everyone affected by a traumatic event. This is a little something of which Lt. Gordon knows. A dog helped him through his own post-traumatic stress disorder which is how he learned first hand how effectively a dog can provide healing comfort.

There have been other Saint Bernards in the Gordon family, including the late “Rosie,” whose show name was GCh Beric’s Rosalita v Gordon. The Gordons’ newest addition to the comfort dog family is 6-month-old “Donut,” so named for the stereotype about donuts and police officers. As Gordon said in an interviews, “It’s a way of breaking the ice. Most people laugh when they hear it.” Donut will be training throughout his tenure as a comfort dog.

The Gordon dogs have a well rounded life outside their roles as comfort dogs. Between movie shoots, TV commercials, and meet-and-greets with celebrities, there are dog shows, something fun that Lt. Gordon and Laura decided they wanted to do as an alternative to police work and handling comfort dogs.

You can read more about the Gordons and their Saint Bernards here. 

Image: Saint Bernard and Little Girl” by Charles Burton Barber is available as a print here.