UAPD Welcomes Maggie The Crisis Response K-9

TUCSON, AZ —The University of Arizona Police Department (UAPD) introduced the newest addition to the force on Feb. 23: a crisis response K-9 named Maggie.

The 4-month-old black Labrador will be working and living with her handler/partner Detective Nicole Nelson, a 4-year veteran of the department. The K-9 has arrived at the UAPD through a grant from the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Foundation (SALEF).

Maggie becomes the second K-9 in the department, joining Skip, a 4-year-old chocolate lab, who is an explosives detection K-9.

Another explosives detection K-9 named Toby recently retired along with his handler, Officer Kyle Morrison, according to UAPD spokesperson Jesus Aguilar, the department's public information officer.

Maggie's role with the UAPD will be about providing comfort to officers and civilians experiencing trauma, while also helping in community outreach.

"She may be used when we have officers, or really anybody in the department, who is going through a difficult time or they responded to extremely traumatic situations," Aguilar told Patch. "They are able to meet and pet her and engage a little and deal with the stress.

"For victims of tragic crimes ... her handler (Nelson) is a detective and often works with victims, and Maggie can provide emotional support to them as an investigation continues."

Aguilar said the department also will take Maggie out into the community for public events.

"(Nelson) will take her out to meet with the public, and it will be another way for community members to engage with the department," Aguilar said. "Everybody loves dogs and it's an opportunity to have that friendly outreach and engagement."

Aguilar said Maggie had been with Nelson and the UAPD for a month before her introduction to the public. Maggie spent that time becoming familiar with Nelson and going through training.

"Most of the training has been more obedience training, since we want her to meet with people experiencing extremely stressful situations and we don't want her to be too rambunctious. We want her to remain calm and not be too amped up," Aguilar said.

Emotional support dogs, Aguilar said, obviously don't have to undergo the same rigorous training as explosives detection dogs, who are required to meet certain training criteria and certify every year. But Maggie's training likely will continue through the years.

"Since this is a new program, and things are always changing, we'll continue to look for best practices and take advantage of those," Aguilar said.