The Winnebago County Medical Examiner’s Office adds a therapy dog to the payroll
K9 Brie joins the Winnebago County Medical Examiner’s Office as a therapy dog. She’ll help comfort grieving families, first responders, and law enforcement officials.
The Winnebago County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Tuesday, August 26 that a one-year-old goldendoodle named K9 Brie would be officially joining the team. K9 Brie will serve as a therapy dog for the office, and her position in this new role was facilitated in part by the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, per FOX 11 News.
Speaking with the local news outlet, McKenzie Repinski, who is K9 Brie’s handler and the Deputy Medical Examiner for the Winnebago County Medical Examiner’s Office, said that therapy dogs are incredible assets. The office is often charged with responding to tragic death scenes, where grieving family members are in obvious distress. “Sometimes people don’t want to talk with us and just want to sit with the dog and pet the dog,” Repinski said. K9 Brie will be able to provide this level of comfort and support to people during their times of need.
K9 Brie will also serve as a therapy dog for first responders and law enforcement personnel
In addition to helping the Medical Examiner’s Office help comfort grieving family members, K9 Brie will also act as a therapy dog for first responders and law enforcement officers. John Matz, the Winnebago County Sheriff, told FOX 11 News, “We all see some very tragic events, and anything that we can do to try to soften that and try to bring some niceness back too, and some softness back,” they want to do.
Sheriff Matz was inspired by the success of another therapy dog who provides emotional support to inmates. “Our therapy dog in the jail is making a difference, so it was just a no-brainer that when Kensie [McKenzie Repinski] talked to us about this, we would support it,” he said.
The goldendoodle has received extensive training
To become the official therapy dog for the Winnebago County Medical Examiner’s Office, K9 Brie had to go through roughly 6,000 hours of training, both in real-world scenarios and in a classroom setting. Amanda Zavadil, the Lead Trainer and Executive Director of Dawgs at Work, worked with K9 Brie to get the goldendoodle ready for her first day on the job.
“To be able to see these puppies come from eight-week-old little fluff balls to being able to go out and be an active role in the community and really doing good that we need, especially for mental health right now, is just so special,” Zavadil told FOX 11 News.
The Medical Examiner’s Office said it is currently seeking donations to help cover the cost of K9 Brie’s food and vet bills. If you’d like to contribute to the fund, you may do so here.
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