K9 Gema joins the Oshkosh Police Department as a therapy dog, Sept. 18, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Oshkosh Police Department)
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Oshkosh Police Department is introducing the newest member of its team to the community.
K9 Gema joins OPD as a therapy dog. She follows in the paw prints of K9 Magic, who served as the department’s therapy dog until her death last fall.
Gema is a two-year-old yellow Labrador. Officials say she is a very friendly dog who loves treats and is always excited to meet new people.
Gema will work with OPD’s Behavioral Health Officer, Scott Sopata, who has been responding to behavioral health-related situations since October 2021. Gema’s job will be providing emotional support to individuals during those sensitive calls for service, as well as to officers after critical incidents.
The Oshkosh Police Department continues to be proactive in seeking various strategies to help Officers deescalate situations and bring them to peaceful resolutions. Gema’s love, kindness, and support will bring a sense of calm to high stress situations and will be an important asset to both the Department and the City of Oshkosh.
Gema comes to OPD from Journey Together Service Dog Inc., a nonprofit organization in Oshkosh that works to place service dogs with people suffering from PTSD.
As part of Journey Together’s training program, service dogs reside at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution. Inmates apply to care for the dogs and provide training in a number of areas. Additionally, community volunteers offer instruction with the inmates and take the dogs out of the facility to provide more experiences that are not possible inside the prison.
This partnership significantly decreases the price tag of training service dogs and grows the number of dogs who can be placed within the community.
K9 Gema has completed extensive training with Journey Together and Officer Sopata, earning nearly half a dozen certifications. Journey Together generally trains their dogs from the time they are eights weeks old until they turn two.
“We are very excited to welcome K9 Gema to our team. She will continue the great work that K9 Magic started and will be a blessing to our community. We are very thankful that Journey Together donated K9 Gema to our Behavioral Health Team,” OPD Chief Dean Smith said in a news release.
Sopata added, “I was very excited to hear that the City of Oshkosh and our Police Department wanted our facility dog program to continue. Magic opened so many doors of success and I know that Gema will continue that legacy while this program continues to grow. It was an honor to work with Journey Together, their trainers, and volunteers during this successor dog process.”
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