Therapy dogs deployed to help law enforcement ‘de-stress’ during Democratic National Convention duty

Here, Fido!

Sneed is told an elite volunteer corps of therapy dogs is being dispatched to staging locales of federal, state and city law enforcement agencies dealing with the Democratic National Convention.

The kicker: The therapy canines are not police dogs. They are trained to soothe people in crisis, specifically police officers and federal agents waiting to be deployed if any emergency occurs during the Democratic National Convention.

“Preparing for the DNC in the advent of thousands of protesters has been a huge undertaking by a multitude of public safety agencies,” said retired police Sgt. Cindy Gross, a 30-year Chicago Police Department veteran who retired in 2001 after years of undercover work dealing with drugs, vice and prostitution.

Gross now dedicates her time and her pets to therapy dog work with the Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy group in Morton Grove. It’s an agency of volunteer teams that initially worked with hospitals and the CPD before being enlisted by the FBI and Secret Service.

“This elite volunteer corps of therapy dogs, assisted by their owners, is trained to calm victims of catastrophe, confrontation, chaos and disorder,” said Gross, who was busy Monday delivering the dogs to various DNC security locations.

“Police officers and agents find it hard to talk about what they are going through, but you’d be amazed at how they lean down into a dog’s fur and talk to them,” said Gross. “It’s stunning,” she said.

“For instance, the police are exhausted from 12-hour shifts, no days off and little family time to de-stress — which is very difficult to do if families need child care,” added Gross, whose silky maned goldendoodle named ‘Teddy,’ is part of the team.

And, if I’m not mistaken, former top cop Phil Cline has a pet who has also worked with the Rainbow team in the past. Bravo!”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file