The Highland Village Police Department announced that its new therapy dog, named after a beloved sergeant who died of COVID-19, has arrived in the city.
The department announced in May that it would be getting an emotional support dog, a poodle-mix that was rescued in the San Antonio area. The department asked the community for suggestions for what to name the dog, and the overwhelming majority suggested “Ollie,” in honor of Sgt. Dennis Oliver, who served HVPD for 19 years until he died of duty-related COVID-19 in October 2020. The city received the blessing of Oliver’s family to use the name Ollie.
Unlike traditional police dogs that are trained to sniff out drugs or people, Ollie is trained to calm people in crisis, comfort victims of crimes and make positive connections with people, particularly first responders who face emotional and stressful situations at work. The city also plans to bring Ollie to community events, as well. After undergoing months of training, Ollie recently arrived in Highland Village and is already making a difference.
“Ollie has already made a couple of visits at community events, and just as we anticipated, all who encounter him love him as much as he loves them,” the department said in a statement. “Ollie has already made many friends in the City and looks forward to faithfully executing the duties of an HVPD emotional support dog.”
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