In this conversation, Garry Botterill discusses his involvement with the UK police wellbeing organization Oscar Kilo and the creation of Oscar Kilo Dogs.

He explains how Service Dogs UK works with Oscar Kilo to introduce wellbeing dogs into police forces across the country.

The conversation also covers the national coverage of Oscar Kilo 9 and the process of setting up wellbeing dog programs in different police forces.

Garry emphasizes that the dogs are not just for therapy but also provide support and signposting for those in need. He mentions the gaps in provision and the goal of having every UK police force involved in OK9.

Takeaways

• Service Dogs UK works with Oscar Kilo to introduce wellbeing dogs into police forces across the UK.
• Oscar Kilo 9 is a national program that aims to have every UK police force involved.
• The dogs provide support and signposting for those in need, and the program is not just limited to therapy.
• There are gaps in provision, but efforts are being made to expand the program to other forces and emergency services.

Sound Bites

• “We’ve now got a really good network of people who are really well motivated to supply help and the opportunity for people to talk about what they’ve been going through and to listen empathetically and signpost them to help should they need it.”
• “We provide the framework and the framework allows for forces if they want to employ one or two people to do the well-being dog offering, they can.”
• “The goal for us is that every UK police force will have an element of OK9 in their force.”

Chapters

• 00:00 Introducing Wellbeing Dogs into Police Forces
• 03:02 The National Program of Oscar Kilo 9
• 05:49 Support and Signposting for Those in Need
• 07:39 Expanding the Program to Other Forces and Emergency Services

We have launched a YouTube channel where you can also view our videos – just click here and please like and subscribe PTV Youtube