For the first time in Wyoming, a K-9 therapy dog is helping young people in detention deal with stress and tense emotions. Daisy is a K-9 therapy dog. That means she’s trained, certified, and licensed to de-escalate tense behaviors or situations. She is a deputy at Sweetwater County detention center. Sweetwater County’s Public Relations Director, Jason Mower said her role is to help young offenders remain calm in stressful, aggressive, or potentially problematic situations.
“We are always looking for tools that can help us de-escalate situations before they become more serious”, Mower said. “So in looking at the science behind animal-assisted therapy, it was really natural for us to make the connection to our detention center... Our hopes (sic) is to use Daisy to intervene before the offender becomes so angry and then makes a poor decision. Maybe the influence of the animal is enough to prevent them from continuing or escalating the poor decisions that they might make”
Many young people locked up in the U.S. are affected by mental health and substance abuse issues. Wyoming is one of the top states with the most at-risk youths facing mental health and substance abuse challenges. At the same time, juvenile detention rates in Wyoming remain one of the highest in the nation. Mower said the new therapy program aims to improve the mental health and well-being of young people at the Sweetwater county detention center.
“Daisy, our dog, was really a programming tool that allows us to make the dog available to the juvenile offenders that are housed in our facility, to help lower anxiety; to help lower stress; to help with depression…”, Mower said.
