December 20, 2024 | Vol. 4, Issue 3
Emotional support for MPD
by Kristi Skipper klskipper01@gmail.com “Woof! Woof, woof, woof, woof woof!” This is how I imagine Corporal Chester of the Montgomery Police Department would respond if I asked him whether he loves his job. Corporal Chester, the K9 partner of Montgomery Police Sergeant Blake Kiernan, is a black lab who serves as MPD’s Emotional Support Dog and was recently promoted to Corporal in a promotion ceremony held at Headquarters. Sergeant Kiernan believes that Chester is the first Emotional Support Dog at MPD. Chester offers support to MPD personnel and the public, serving as a public relations tool for the department. Chester is different from typical police K9s in that people can pet him. He has a patch on his vest that says, “Free hugs.” Chester and Sergeant Kiernan are members of the Peer Support Bureau, which supports MPD personnel who may need help navigating through traumatic situations in their professional or personal lives.
PHOTO: Courtesy of Blake Kiernan
Chester is devoted to improving morale and assuring safety to a busy, hard working, often stressed team of Montgomery police officers.
Chester goes home with Sergeant Kiernan every night and sleeps in the house with his family, unlike other MPD K9s who must sleep outside in kennels until retirement.
Usually, MPD’s K9s are untrained when they arrive and are sorted according to their aggressiveness and whether they are prey-driven, and the
handler does all the training. However, Chester came to the department already trained as a therapy dog. He can also shake, shut doors, and speak. Sergeant Kiernan said that he prefers Chester to a human partner because he doesn’t argue about what is playing on the radio or where to stop for dinner.
A PACERS NEWSPAPER NETWORK PUBLICATION
Corporal Chester begins each shift by reporting to Headquarters with Sergeant Kiernan for roll call. When Sergeant Kiernan stands up at the front of the room with the other shift supervisors and the Captain, Chester visits the officers to give them some encouragement before they hit the street. (Continued on page 2)