The New Castle County Delaware Police Department welcomed expertly trained Facility Dog Nikko to their team in 2019. Nikko has made a paw-sitive impact in the New Castle community since his arrival.
Nikko visits schools and many community events. He’s helped calm New Castle County Police Chief Vaughn Bond during a stressful early mornings.
“Nikko has been a Godsend, not only for the people who have interacted with him so far,” says Bond, “but on day one…they brought Nikko up to my office, and it was early in the morning, and that’s typically when your blood pressure is a little high. You open up the emails and you find out this went wrong and that went wrong…and I’m spinning around in my chair, and in comes Nikko, and I just calmed down. He has that kind of effect.”
But, most importantly for the police department, Facility Dog Nikko helps in criminal investigations, including calming a young girl long enough for detectives to gather necessary evidence from a crime scene.
“The whole situation was causing her stress and anxiety,” said Master Cpl. Chris Gigliotti, Nikko’s handler and a member of the department’s Community Services Unit. “So, we got on the floor and played. We taught her a couple of Nikko’s commands, and after about an hour, she became agreeable to the investigation.”
Nikko has been trained in numerous commands to ease trauma victims in stressful situations, open doors and assist children and other vulnerable populations. Nikko is making a big impact on the New Castles community and representing Canine Companions proudly! To apply for a facility dog, visit canine.org/apply.
