ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – It’s not all smiles and tail wags at the Roanoke County Police Department – unless, of course, Scarlett is at the office.
The almost 3-year-old lab is a service dog. Her owner, Darren Potter, is a chaplain and life coach who helps law enforcement deal with the stress of the job.
“I’ve learned that officers in a 20-year career will face an average of 800 traumatic events,” said Potter. “When the average person in society will only face a little less than 2 on average, between one and two, in a lifetime.”
After working with the county for years, and thanks to the wise advice of his wife, Potter worked with the nonprofit Mutts With A Mission to find his new four-legged business partner in October.
“She was the perfect match. She was the calmest one. And for what I do, in particular, when I’m meeting with officers one-on-one, having a dog that was this calm, just, it’s been great,” said Potter.
As a service dog, Scarlett is trained to perform a variety of tasks, but most importantly her job is to provide comfort.
“She just calms things down,” said Potter. “Studies have shown that just that long stroking down a dog’s back can lower the heart rate, it lowers the anxiety and just allows us to delve into some things that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise.”
On average, Potter works with about 500 officers across the Roanoke Valley. He also provides services across the Commonwealth. After the deadly University of Virginia shooting, he and Scarlett traveled to Charlottesville.
“Scarlett and I went to a rec center where I’d say 150-200 students kind of filtered through over about a three-, four-hour period,” said Potter. ”And we were able to meet with five to a dozen students at a time who just gathered around her as she was on the floor. They literally sat on the floor and were just petting her.”
Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall said Scarlett is the perfect addition to the force.
″Just her presence can sort of calm people down,” said Hall. “So we’re happy to have her.”
Scarlett’s happy to help officers having a “ruff” day.
“It’s really quite remarkable to see the impact that she has on people,” said Potter.