Comfort Dog

Officer Sean Benoit and Comfort Dog "Rio"

In December 2023, the Londonderry Police Department welcomed 8-week-old Rio to the department. Rio is a male Bernedoodle who was donated by a local breeder. Officer Sean Benoit, who was the middle school school resource officer, was selected in a process to become the department's first comfort dog handler. Rio will spend the majority of 2024 training to be certified as a comfort dog. The goal is to transition Officer Benoit and Rio into a full-time community service role.

The Comfort Dog program is a fantastic community outreach initiative that is beneficial to both residents and LPD employees. The function of the Comfort Dog is to provide aid and comfort for people during times of crisis and assist individuals, groups, and communities impacted by violence, tragedy, or traumatic events. Additionally, a trained Comfort Dog will provide an option to improve interaction during investigations involving children or adults, reduce anxiety, and increase communication between the adult or child victim/witness and investigators. 

LPD’s comfort dog program is funded entirely by community donations. We thank the following businesses and organizations for their contributions: Sit Means Sit Dog Training, Pets Plus, Fromm Family Pet Food, Londonderry Animal Clinic, Honey Dog Grooming, and the Londonderry Rotary Club.

Donations can be made to the program through the Londonderry Police Association. Checks can be mailed to Londonderry Police Association PO BOX 1063 (please write comfort dog program in the notes) or Venmo LPA2021.