At Norman’s 911 call center, Bella keeps the calm amid a crisis.
Many rescued pets go on to become contributing members of the society, and one of them is Bella, a therapy dog for a 911 call center. Working for this kind of call center can be extremely stressful. Dispatchers are often faced with a crisis, and what’s worse is it can happen several times a day. So during these heartbreaking and traumatic events, Bella’s paw is always within reach.
At the Norman Emergency Communications and Operations Center, Bella makes her rounds, calming and healing the hearts of dispatchers who needed to attend to a crisis. It’s no secret that dispatchers in this line of work could face around 800 traumatic events throughout their career, so having someone to hug after each distressing call would bring some form of calmness. And that’s when Bella steps in.
According to the Communications supervisor for the Norman’s 911 call center, Susannah Bishop, Bella is trained to identify if a dispatcher is facing a crisis by sniffing out their adrenaline. There are pressures are constant in this kind of job and sometimes the staff get amped up during a call, she added. Meanwhile, Bella would sense that there’s something wrong by the tone of their voices, so she would go over and sit next to the dispatcher. Sometimes she would just lean on their legs or rest her head on their laps.
What Bella does calms the dispatcher, and this is crucial so he or she could stay focus for the callers. This would then help the dispatcher get the necessary information to keep the responders and citizens safe.
Bella in Action
One summer at Norman’s 911 call center, Brianna Jones received a call. It was from a mother whose children drowned. The two toddlers were strapped inside an ATV that went into the river. Despite the efforts in saving the children, they drowned with the vehicle. Jones did her best to stay calm while talking to the mother on the phone until the officers arrive.
Jones said she did cry during the call and other dispatchers had to take the phones away from her. After that, she went into the break room with Bella. The therapy dog put her head on Jones’ lap, and offered a silent support. Jones later shared that it was nice to have Bella and get that breather. She was able to get back up and return to work afterward.
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Before Becoming a 911 Therapy Dog
Before working as a 911 therapy dog, Bella had a rough life. Animal control workers found her in a crate, starving. She lived there for a year, since birth, and didn’t receive enough care from previous owners. Bella ended up in a no-kill shelter managed by a former detective. Later on, Bella did some time in prison, but not in the way you might think.
Bella went to the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, a prison for women in Oklahoma. The facility had a Guardian Angels program, wherein Bella worked with inmates to learn how to be a good dog. The inmates there train rescue dogs, groom them and teach them commands. After a successful training, Bella moved on to work for the call center and has become a crucial part of the team. Bella takes her job seriously, visiting staff in their offices and always ready when one needs a paw to hold on to or a head on the lap.
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From The Club
I agree that working at a 911 call center is never easy, even if you’ve been there for years. But thankfully, dogs like Bella exist. I have much appreciation for therapy dogs like her who could bring calmness to a stressful moment. It’s sort of like a magic, and you can also notice that in regular dogs. They whine a bit or give us licks when we’re feeling down; they’re just so attuned to human emotions. The power of a pooch will never fail to amaze me.