NYPD officers at the 19th Precinct who heroically responded to last week’s Midtown mass shooting that claimed four lives received a surprise visit on Thursday from therapy dogs.
Photo by Dean Moses
NYPD officers at the 19th Precinct who heroically responded to last week’s Midtown mass shooting that claimed four lives received a surprise visit on Thursday from therapy dogs.
When shots rang out inside 345 Park Ave. on July 28, Capt. Julieann Stapleton recalled, the officers of the 19th Precinct sprung into action without a second thought — and without considering the mental toll the response to this emergency would inflict.
“Every day we train for this, train to run into danger when everybody’s running away from it. And last week, we saw you guys do exactly that,” Stapleton told the officers at the Aug. 7 afternoon roll call. “We are also trained to go to a job and then move on to the next one. But unlike every other job, that is not something that we’re going to be able to just move on from, we’re going to take it, take a piece of that job with us for the rest of our lives.”
In the days following the incident, Chief of Department John Chell admitted that he had been shaken by the level of death and destruction he had witnessed. Concerned that some members of the precinct are still dealing with the horrors of that day, canines from NYPD Health and Wellness, Puppies Behind Bars, and Chief Larry Rotta with his pooch Eddie from the Tuckahoe Police Department made a surprise visit to the stationhouse.
The stoic police officers instantly lit up with joy Thursday upon seeing the labradors, who eagerly rushed to greet the men and women in blue. Some cops crouched down for a quick pet while others sat on the floor with open arms, allowing the pups to jump on them and lick their faces.
It’s the simplest joy dogs can offer “man’s best friend” — yet it can make the most difference in the wake of tragedy.
“Dogs are magical. They can make people talk, open up, and express emotion in a way that no human being can. We see time and again, and especially when an officer is hurting, as is everybody in this precinct, the dogs just have a way of comforting that we can’t do ourselves,” Gloria Gilbert Stoga of Puppies Behind Bars said.
“Tell me a story,” one cop asked one of the labradors, prompting her to lay on the officer’s legs. Another pup jumped into the arms of a cop.
“There’s no human being that can do what these dogs do. They’ve been a traumatic experience. We also use the dog for victims,” Chief Rotta said. “It’s an incredible impact, and it’s something that they will remember because of the experience.”
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