NORTHBOROUGH – The “sergeant of snuggles” has officially arrived at the Northborough Police Department.
Marshall is an 11-week-old English chocolate Labrador and the department’s new comfort dog.
“He’s definitely testing his boundaries as a puppy at home, but when he puts the vest on he pretty much already knows that he’s in work mode, and he’s pretty calm,” said Detective Steve Sullivan, who is Marshall’s handler.
Marshall came from Boonefield Labradors in New Hampshire, which breeds dogs that have gone to other police departments.
Sullivan said that Boonefield owners Peggi and Dave Brogan do a great job setting up dogs with their future owners. Based on an application and whether they will be a working dog and part of a police department, they pair families with the dogs from the litter.
After the department learned that it was in line for this litter of puppies and Sullivan learned that he would be the handler, he brought his two daughters to the park where they met puppies that they were able to pet.
“She goes, ‘Daddy, I want a puppy,’ and she would not stop talking about getting a puppy. I said, ‘Well, we’ve got news for you — we’re getting one,’” Sullivan recalled.
Every day, his daughter asked when the puppy was coming home. Sullivan and his wife met the dogs when they were four weeks old — Marshall was the dog he bonded most with.
At the six-week mark, Boonefield holds an orientation and the Sullivans met the other families who were taking puppies home. Officer Zuko of the Burlington Police Department also comes from Marshall’s litter.
“I was hoping and praying for him to be the one that we would take home because ultimately we trust the breeder. It’s the breeder Peggi and Dave’s decision as to them pairing up,” Sullivan said.
Marshall ended up being the puppy that was joining the Northborough Police Department.
“He’s really chill. He’s going to do great things here in Northborough,” said Sullivan.
Marshall will begin training through Animal Assisted Therapy Services soon. The training will last about 25 weeks and cover topics like obedience and comfort dog training and information for Sullivan as his handler. At the end of the training, there will be a test.
Sullivan, who is the school resource officer, said he’s looking forward to see Marshall’s personality change as he undergoes training and certification to become an approachable comfort dog that he was born to be.
“He walks into the room and the whole demeanor of the room changes. He brightens the room,” Sullivan said.
Marshall already has a packed schedule filled with comfort dog duties. He’s visited other town departments and made an appearance at events, including being sworn in before the Turkey Trot.
Last week, Marshall and about a dozen other comfort dogs went to Worcester County Juvenile Court for National Adoption Day. Kids came up left and right to meet Marshall. He did well, Sullivan said.
“I was very impressed with how he interacted with the other dogs. He was quite excited at first, but he calmed down after a while,” said Sullivan.
Gift fund
During the Select Board’s Nov. 18 meeting, the board appointed Marshall as the “sergeant of snuggles” and voted to establish a dedicated gift fund for the police department, allowing them to consolidate monetary donations and accept tangible property to enable them to support and expand the comfort dog program.
Chief Brian Griffin said that in talking to other departments that have a comfort dog or K-9 program, this was smart to do as people want to give gifts to the dog.
