Critical Incident Therapy Dog K9 Junior; A Year in Review

Drive by the Owego Fire Department’s Central Station on any warm and sunny day, and chances are you’ll be greeted by a big, brown dog with his paws crossed in front of him. The gentle giant is Junior, Owego Police Department’s very own Critical Incident Therapy Dog.

Owego Police K9 Supervisor Vanek, with the support of Owego Chief of Police Joseph Kennedy, initiated the Critical Incident Therapy Dog Unit with K9 Max and Village of Owego Paramedic Sonya Bement. The team played an active role in supporting the First

Responder community until Max’s untimely death in early December.

Junior came to Owego in December 2023 from Animal Care Sanctuary and was one of several dogs acquired from a high-kill shelter in Texas. As is rarely the case, the shelter had a complete paper trail of Junior’s health and social history. 

His former owner was a female vet tech who took him in after a near-fatal rattlesnake bite left him visually impaired and scarred. The two lived and worked together until she was no longer able to fight her substance use disorder and succumbed to homelessness. In a final act of compassion, she surrendered Junior to the shelter, complete with three sweaters, some supplements, and a collar.

Just before Christmas in 2023, the Animal Care Sanctuary took delivery of several dogs from this shelter, including Junior. Sonya went to the shelter with a heavy heart after losing Max. 

Sonya stated, “I can remember my husband driving me there on Christmas Eve; we were both still so sad and longing to fill the deep chasm from the loss of Max.”

Dog after sweet dog was brought into the visitation room to greet the couple, but none seemed quite right. Finally, a female employee told them about Junior and advised that he had just arrived a couple of days before and hadn’t quite come out of his shell. She hesitantly offered to bring him in for a meet and greet.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Junior walked in on the heels of the volunteer. He was initially afraid to leave her side, but with some gentle coaxing from the pair, he walked straight to Chuck, dropped his head on his lap, and let out a long, mournful sigh. 

The Bements recognized right away that Junior was mourning the loss of his owner, just as they were mourning their loss of Max. So began the shared journey from loss to hope.

By the beginning of February 2024, after only being together for two months, Junior and Sonya worked side by side seamlessly, and they were ready to test to serve their community. 

Together, they trained for and passed the Critical Incident Therapy Dog Certification provided through the Eastern Police Canine Training Association. Junior was also recognized as an AKC Canine Good Citizen later in the spring, and the pair attended ongoing training with the Southern Tier Police Canine Training Association.

In February 2024 Junior was recognized as an official Owego Police K9. Officer Vanek remarked, of the pair, “Junior and Sonya have been the most actively deployed K9 team in our department, with over 40 deployments in 2024.” 

This past year, Junior’s deployments included 11 school visits, 18 support visits for medical providers and first responders, as well as numerous post-traumatic victim support visits.

One of the first deployments for Junior was in February 2024, assisting the New York State Police with three small children who had witnessed the domestic homicide of their mother. Junior and Sonya responded to the Tioga County Child Advocacy Center and provided calm and grounding comfort to a preschooler and two school-aged children. Junior accepted pets, snuggles, and pats from the children while they silently processed what they had witnessed and prepared to give their statements to investigators.

In addition to victim support, Junior’s deployment profile includes First Responder support, critical incident scene support, and community support.

Junior and Sonya assisted at the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash involving a well-known outlaw biker club on a run to Vermont. When the lead group became aware of the incident and attempted to enter the scene, Sonya and Junior were there defusing the situation as they took turns petting Junior. 

“Dogs are sponges for our emotions that cross over all barriers, bringing comfort to people in need,” added Officer Vanek.

In the summer of 2024, Sonya and Junior attended training in Syracuse sponsored by NYLEAP (New York Law Enforcement Assistance Program) to better enable the team to assist with law enforcement and first responders following traumatic incidents. 

The courses, ICISF/Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention, included four full days of classroom learning and role-play. The training has already paid off, enabling Sonya and Junior to participate in a post-incident group crisis intervention serving Ithaca PD and Bangs Ambulance in Ithaca following a domestic homicide involving children in November 2024.

Junior is featured in his very own book, Junior’s K9 Friends. He has visited nearly all of the elementary schools in Tioga County to share the book and meet new friends. The pair can often be seen greeting students as they get off the school bus and start their day.

On March 11, Junior and Sonya sailed through the testing and were recertified as a Critical Incident Therapy Dog Team through the Eastern Police Canine Association, Inc. for the second consecutive year. Chief Joe Kennedy hopes to emphasize the value and importance of community and victim support through more frequent deployments and awareness of this valuable resource.

For more information and to utilize the Owego Police Critical Incident Therapy Dog team, contact Supervisor Vanek at (607) 343-1487, visit www.southerntierpolicek-9.com, or on Facebook at facebook.com/SouthernTierPoliceCanineAssociationIncorporated.