Miami-Dade Police Adopt Service Dog that Comforted Those Affected by the Surfside Condominium Collapse

Miami-Dade police dog Dottie. Miami-Dade Police Department.
Miami-Dade Police Department
Nick Gilbertson

The Miami-Dade Police Department has adopted a service dog named Dottie, who helped the survivors and family members affected by the Surfside condominium collapse on June 24.

Dottie is a two-year-old English Pointer mix and has been assigned to her new handler, Officer Alexander Munoz, the Miami-Dade police announced in a tweet.

Munoz, who is already fond of the service dog, stated, “Dottie is a very, very cute partner,” in an interview with CBS Miami. Munoz is very impressed with the pup’s easy-going temperament and her ability to provide adequate service regardless of what a situation requires. 

“It’s amazing to see how a dog with so little training, and I was just talking to a trainer about this, she almost recognizes when a child has some type of disorder,” Munoz told Local 10. “She automatically calms down and puts her head on their lap. It’s almost like she was born to do this.”

“These dogs have to be completely tame and calm, you could be dealing with somebody that has a mental breakdown, or maybe going through an episode, or reaction to medication,” he explained to CBS Miami. 

“We’re going to Surfside, we’re going to schools, and children with disability, so we’re really making a difference,” Munoz added in his interview with CBS Miami. 

Munoz noted that Dottie made an enormous impact in helping those affected by the collapsed condominium in Surfside earlier this year. “She was able to interact with the families of the victims, she was also able to interact with firefighters, investigators that were on scene, they were very long days, and the dog was able to just interact with them, they would play with her,” he told CBS Miami. 

Major Carmen Castro announced the police department has big plans for the English Pointer mix. “She’s going to be attending any event that brings us closer to the community. This program, the community-oriented dog support program, turned out to be very successful when first initiated in Kendall District back in 2018,” she said in a video tweeted by the Miami-Dade Police Department. “It’s important to expand on this program to be able to reach all of Dade County.”

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.