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First-ever comfort dog for Multnomah County Sheriff's Office sworn in

Burton, a 3-year-old German shepherd, will respond to calls to help relieve stress and anxiety of families, community members and first responders.

PORTLAND, Ore. — There's a new sheriff in town and he's only three-years-old. Burton is the newest member of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and the department's first-ever comfort dog. 

Burton was sworn in on Monday and along with his handler, Deputy Kerri Oman, will respond to calls and help relieve the stress and anxiety of families, community members and first responders. 

"He eases tensions, he eases stress," said Deputy Oman. "He just brings everyone solace and comfort and he just makes you feel good. It's amazing what a dog can do just being in someone's presence."

Burton's a German shepherd donated and trained by Working Dogs Oregon. The organization said Burton will be a true asset to the community. 

Credit: Deidre Johnson/KGW
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office comfort dog Burton sworn in on May 20, 2024.


"The power of dog does some amazing things," said Darin Campbell with Working Dogs Oregon. "It will connect some of the most difficult cases in Multnomah County and I'm talking cases of individuals. It humanizes everybody and it makes the uniform disappear and that just makes for a better community."

Working Dogs Oregon has placed many dogs at locations such as Oregon State University and the Tualatin Police Department. The organization said they wanted to make sure Burton went to the right department. 

"We train these dogs for this purpose," said Campbell. "There's a lot of walls that need to be broken down to get the department to see that need and realize that this is something that's really going to be a benefit to them."  

Burton's handler couldn't be happier to be paired with him, so they can help others in need. 

"It's a dream job," Oman said. "I'm also on our crisis negotiation team and our peer support team and so I deal a lot with members of the community going through crisis and I thought what a great asset to have a dog with them."

Burton will work Tuesday through Friday. He'll also be on call so he can respond to critical incident calls or to a victim with trauma who needs help. 


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