Police work rarely follows a predictable schedule. Officers and civilian staff move between competing responsibilities, difficult conversations, administrative demands, and situations that require sustained attention. Finding time to step away can be challenging, even when a break would be beneficial.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia wanted to know whether a brief visit with a therapy dog could offer a practical way to reduce stress during the working day.
In 2018, UBC’s B.A.R.K. program partnered with the Kelowna RCMP Detachment to study a canine-assisted workplace wellness intervention. Seven trained therapy dog and handler teams visited the detachment weekly over eight weeks.
The researchers measured employees’ perceived stress immediately before and after their visits.
Eleven Minutes, Measurable Change
Over the eight-week pilot, 120 employees made a combined 251 visits. The average visit lasted approximately 11 minutes.
Participants rated their stress before and after spending time with the dogs and their handlers.
Average self-reported stress decreased from 3.3 before the visit to 2.0 afterward, a statistically significant reduction (Binfet et al., 2020).
For a workplace intervention that required relatively little time, this was an encouraging finding.
It is important, however, to understand exactly what the research demonstrated.
The study measured immediate changes in perceived stress. It did not establish whether participants experienced lasting improvements in mental health, fewer occupational stress injuries, or a reduced risk of developing PTSD.
Because the pilot did not include a randomized control group, other factors contributing to the reduction cannot be ruled out.
Why Short Wellness Opportunities Matter
Workplace mental health programming often involves scheduled appointments, training sessions, or dedicated time away from regular duties.
Those services are important, but they may not always be easy to access during a demanding shift.
The Kelowna program offered employees an opportunity to stop by, interact with the dogs, and return to work without committing to a lengthy session.
Participants were not required to discuss personal difficulties or explain why they wanted to attend.
For someone who simply needs a few minutes away from the demands of their work, that accessibility may be particularly valuable.
What This Means for Facility Dog Programs
Facility dogs can participate in workplace wellness programs that provide regular opportunities for informal engagement, structured activities, and connection.
The presence of a trained dog can offer an approachable focus for the interaction. A qualified handler is responsible for guiding participation, recognizing appropriate boundaries, and ensuring the dog’s welfare.
Where the handler is also a qualified mental health professional, these visits may create opportunities to learn about additional support services.
That possibility deserves further research. The Kelowna study did not measure whether therapy dog visits increased subsequent use of professional mental health care.
What it did demonstrate is that a brief, accessible canine-assisted interaction was associated with an immediate reduction in self-reported workplace stress.
For organizations developing mental health programming, that finding raises a worthwhile question: how can we make opportunities for recovery and connection part of the ordinary working day?
References
Binfet, J.-T., Draper, Z. A., & Green, F. L. L. (2020). Stress reduction in law enforcement officers and staff through a canine-assisted intervention. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 8(2), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2020.0011
Green, F. L. L., & Binfet, J.-T. (2021). Therapy dogs, stress-reduction, and well-being within the detachment: Interviews with law-enforcement personnel. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 11(1), 10–35. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2021.0018
