Morrow County Prosecutor’s Office Director of Victim Services Richelle Ettel and K-9 Mayor have completed a joint OPOTC and Ohio Attorney General’s Office course and are now certified by the state as a Crisis K-9 Team, according to a release submitted by the office.
Mayor joined the office roughly a year ago to comfort victims moving through the criminal justice system. The office said the dog arrived at no cost to county taxpayers after about $50,000 in initial training and was paired with Ettel.
Since then, the team’s work has widened. According to the release, Ettel and Mayor have appeared in local schools, the Morrow County Jail, court proceedings, mental health and drug treatment events and community gatherings. They also have responded when law enforcement thought a trained therapy dog could help calm or de-escalate a situation.
The pair has continued training, including specialized sessions in Chicago and New Orleans, and recently presented at a conference in Columbus. Prosecutor Andrew Wick said people in crisis are not always found inside the prosecutor’s office and that the team has built skills to reach them elsewhere. He described the certification as another step toward making support available to victims, witnesses, children, families and community members.
The office said the certification reflects a commitment to trauma-informed support and to expanding how it responds to people in difficult circumstances.