Abington Police Department Chooses Name Of New Therapy Dog After 1,000+ Suggestions

ABINGTON, PA — The Abington Police Department has announced it has chosen a name for its recently acquired K9 therapy dog, the decision coming after more than a thousand name suggestions poured in from canine-loving community members.

The name chosen for the police department's new four-legged member is Leo, and the Golden Doodle rescue even now has his own Facebook page.

Patch recently reported on the Abington Police Department's new addition.

Related: Abington Police Department Welcomes New Addition: A Therapy Dog

The department had put out a community notice saying it was seeking to choose a new name for the canine.

Late last week, the department said it chose the name Leo from more than a thousand name suggestions from the public.

The name Leo actually comes from "Law. Enforcement. Officer.," the department stated.

"Stay tuned for updates on my future adventures!" reads a post on the new APD K9 Leo Facebook page.

Abington Police say Leo's job will be to deal with members of the community who have suffered through violence or traumatic events.

Leo is a Golden Doodle rescue, having been acquired by the Home at Last Dog Rescue.

An article on PoliceMag.com argued that more police departments across the country should consider employing therapy dogs, as they have been proven effective at helping a variety of individuals.

"For law enforcement, therapy dogs can greatly reduce heightened short-term anxiety following a critical incident with the added effect of potentially increasing recall for debriefing," wrote author Doug Wyllie. "These animals have also been proven to effectively help individuals manage long-term post-traumatic stress."

There, Wyllie was writing more about therapy dogs as used for the officers themselves, but he also wrote that therapy dogs can be great ambassadors for the police departments that employ them.

"They show up at schools, festivals, parades, and other community events and are magnets for kids as well as kids-at-heart," he wrote.

As for using therapy dogs to aid victims of crimes and other traumatic events, Wyllie wrote that there's no denying the canine would have its place in a police department.

"A well-trained therapy dog and its handler can have a tremendously positive effect on an individual's wellness following a traumatic event," the author wrote.