MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Law enforcement can be a very stressful job, but at the Manitowoc City Police Department, they have a friend named Mali who is there to help.
Mali is a one-year-old bernedoodle with quite the personality. As officers come in and out of the department throughout the day, Mali is always there to greet them. She sits in on briefings and even visits the office staff.
"We define Mali as our facility dog, as opposed to a service dog," her handler Assistant Chief Jason Freiboth says. "Mali's main job is to basically interact with all of our department employees and help relieve some of the occupational stress that we have."
Although Freiboth started the program as a way to help protect the mental health of officers, Mali has become quite a fan favorite in Manitowoc. She has visited multiple schools and many community events.
"What we found is that she became pretty popular amongst members of the community," Freiboth says. "It's amazing how many people recognize just her."
Since beginning the program less than two years ago, he has had other departments from around the state reach out with planning questions to start their own facility dog program.
No matter where the program goes from here, Mali has definitely made an impact on the station and the staff.
"My office is extremely busy now," Freiboth says. "A lot of people will just stop in throughout the day and interact with Mali, take her for a walk, play ball in the hallway."
