Meet Duke, the Minnesota K-9 who sniffs out stress
WCCO, BURNSVILLE POLICE AND FIRE, K9’S FOR FREEDOM & INDEPENDENCE, CNN
By Kirsten Mitchell
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Minnesota (WCCO) — We know dogs can sense our emotions, but did you know they can actually smell it, too?
Duke, a 2-year-old lab, is a critical incident response dog with the Burnsville Police Department, specially trained to detect cortisol — a stress hormone — in people.
“He will basically walk into a room and he’ll sniff everybody who’s in the room, and then he will zero in on that person who is the most stressed,” said Sgt. Max Yakovlev. “Then the goal is for that person to sit so what they call is a grounding technique, and he tries to get somebody to sit down and pet him.”
Duke arrived the day after the tragic deaths of two officers and a firefighter-paramedic in Burnsville last year.
“He came at the right time, but at the kind of the wrong time, if that makes even sense, right?” Yakovlev said.
He was there to bring calm when it was needed most.
“I honestly think it was a God thing, because I was already planning on being there,” he said.
Duke came from K9s for Freedom & Independence, a Texas nonprofit. Like a narcotics dog, he’s trained to sniff out stress, using sweat and saliva.
“It is so much different than the therapy dogs, because these dogs go out in the field. They can go on mental health calls,” said Janeen Baggette, founder of K9s for Freedom & Independence.
Duke responds with Burnsville’s Behavioral Health Unit about 12 times a month and spends the rest of his time visiting schools or attending community events.
“Sometimes the uniform, sometimes just our presence there, it can be a lot, and having him around kind of diminishes, that breaks down the barriers, or be able to work with somebody who is in crisis,” Baggette said.
He’s also helping the officers.
“Hopefully we can start to slow down and prevent the higher levels of suicide, individuals walking away from the job and resigning,” she said.
Off-duty, Duke’s just another member of the Yakovlev family.
“He’s on a little bit of a diet because of the treats,” Lakovlev said. “You know, the question comes up, the why? Why do we need it? And the answer is, look at him. Like, it’s fun, and people love it.”
The Savage Fire Department also has a Critical Incident Response Team K-9 from the same organization — a chocolate lab named Marshall.
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