Meet one of the dogs helping heal Syracuse officers and Onondaga County deputies

CHITTENANGO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — When Clear Path for Veterans vets dogs to live with veterans, Jenga didn’t make the cut.

“She shows a few behaviors that would not make her a good service dog,” said her handler Mariana Rossoni. “For example, she’s afraid of flag poles.”

She’s not afraid to help, so Clear Path for Veterans uses her as a therapy dog.

The yellow lab has been supporting men and women in blue.

When the Syracuse Police Department and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office each lost an officer, Clear Path for Veterans reached out to each department to offer support.

A quick solution was visits from the dogs.

They’ve been greeting officers when their shifts begin and were in place for after the funerals of Officer Michael Jensen and Lt. Michael Hoosock.

“There’s scientific connections you can make about having a dog look you in the eye,” said Rossoni. “And what does to play into your heart.”

“Our dogs are specifically trained to mitigate symptoms associated with trauma,” said Clear Path for Veteran’s Chief Program Officer Ryan Woodruff.

Woodruff served in Iraq at the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom and witnessed intense warfare. The firefights he ducked from weren’t too different from the few minutes of danger that killed the two officers in Salina.

“I’m the same age as one of the officers and so that really hit home for me,” said Woodruff. “Especially as a father, with kids, somebody who served on the front lines for our nation. I would relate that to what our officers are doing as well. They deserve just as much credit as our service men and women do.”

Clear Path for Veterans is using the help of police as a pilot program, as it considers adding more therapy dog services to non-veteran opportunities.

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