HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office just got a super "star" added to its ranks — Mason Star!
Mason is the agency's first-ever service dog. He was donated to the sheriff's office by the Florida nonprofit K9s for Warriors. The group is the nation's largest provider of trained service dogs for veterans.
"Mason Star will be a life-changer," Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a news conference Wednesday announcing Mason's arrival. "I think I can go as far as to say he'll even be a life-saver."
"K9s for Warriors is absolutely thrilled to be able to gift Mason Star to the sheriff's office," Rory Diamond, CEO of K9s for Warriors said. "This station dog, if all works out the way we know it will, should without question be the frontline for mental health for the sheriff's office."
Diamond says all of the nonprofit's service dogs are rescued from high-risk, high-kill shelters and given a second chance as they are trained right here in Florida to serve disabled veterans across the country.
"As we learn so much what these dogs can do for our warriors, we looked around and saw a national crisis of mental health with our sheriff's deputies, our police officers and our first responders," Diamond said. Seeing a need, K9s for Warriors started going to a few police departments in north Florida to put "station dogs" there to help officers' mental health.
Diamond says Mason will be able to see people who are victimized by or witnessed crime in addition to helping deputies with their mental health needs.
Diamond says Mason is incredibly well-trained and was even trained to handle the Ybor City chickens — he's is "chicken-resistant" should he need to encounter them during his duties, he added.
In 2018, Mason was paired with a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Immediately, the sheriff's office says, Mason helped the veteran's symptoms, and after a few years, the vet realized he no longer needed Mason.
Instead, he chose to return Mason for a new purpose.
As a service dog, Mason is trained to recognize signs of anxiety or stress and intervene.
Chronister says the agency is "extremely fortunate" to receive Mason as a gift, and was quick to say that Mason was not taken from a deserving service member. Diamond concurred, saying the nonprofit would never deny a service member the need for a service dog.
Chronister says Mason will not be a K-9 deputy and go out on patrol; that's not his job.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is the largest law enforcement agency to receive a service dog from the nonprofit thus far.
You can watch the full news conference here: