A new officer has joined the ranks of the Guilford Police Department. Miller, the new station dog, is expected to be an ambassador for the department, while providing emotional support for both officers and members of the public.

Miller is not a typical “police dog” in the service sense. He won’t be chasing fugitives or sniffing out evidence, but his function, according to police officials, will be just as critical to the safety of department personnel and the Guilford community.

The effort to obtain Miller began under previous Chief of Police Butch Hyatt, but the process took some time to find the right dog with the right personality, according to Det. Sgt. Joseph Duro, who is also Miller’s main human handler. According to Duro, the department partnered with K9 Warriors in Jacksonville, Florida, an organization that initially provided support dogs to veterans but has grown to include station dogs like Miller.

Duro said Miller will reside at the station full-time, with occasional nights home with him and his family, all while providing support for department personnel and eventually, when he gets acclimated to his new job, partaking in community outreach events.

“He has been great so far. Right now, our Peer Support Group is taking care of him and overseeing his training. As he gets more comfortable over the next few months, we’ll have more staff involved,” said Duro. “He will do events, but with winter coming, we are probably looking at next year for that. It will take a bit of time, but we think he will do fine. He’s a great dog.”

Miller is named in honor of Ethan Miller Song, who lost his life in 2018 in an accidental shooting. Ethan, according to his parents, Kristin and Mike Song, had an intense love and compassion for dogs. At the time of his death, the 15-year-old was just about to complete an almost five-year project to find homes for 100 dogs that he and the Song family helped foster to forever homes.

“That [Ethan’s death] really had an impact on our officers and all the people who work here, really. And too often we just take that and internalize it don’t talk about and over time...it can have a huge impact on an officer’s emotional well-being. So, our department and Peer Support team are trying to get ahead of a number of tragedies that have happened over the years that just now we are realizing are so important to deal with,” said Duro. “For us to be the best version of ourselves for the community, now we have Miller to help us bring that about. In order for us to go out and do the best job possible every day, we have to be at our best and in the right frame of mind. And with Miller, we think that can assist us in that mission. Not only will he help at the station, but also when we’re out on the job, too.”

According to Duro, the department had worked for an extended period to locate the right dog for the department and praised colleagues on the Peer Support Team, Sgt. Craig Michalowski and Dispatcher Kristy Baur, among others, who helped develop the program.

Miller will also undergo training that will assist with emotional support for certain crime victims, as well.

Both Kristin and Mike Song expressed their appreciation for the effort of the department and the honor of Miller’s naming. The Songs praised the entire department for their help and guidance in the wake of their son’s death, a 10-month ordeal of uncertainty and grief while the investigation was conducted into the incident that took their son’s life.

According to Mike Song, he and his family will be forever grateful to the department for their diligence and compassion. Song also said that his family’s fostering experience and his son’s legacy of empathy have come full circle with the addition of Miller.

“When you rescue an animal, it builds an incredible connection and allows you to express a part of yourself that can sometimes be hard to express to people. You can actually become a more caring and compassionate person. Fostering animals is an adventure and a real experience. I honestly feel that journey, that the fostering that Ethan and our family did, brought our family closer together, and I truly feel it made us better people,” Song said. “It really shaped our family’s culture and its DNA. I think it is a great tribute to Kristin that she got Ethan into this initially. I think it’s a great tribute to her gut instinct to be that type of person, and she brought us all along on that journey. Her and Ethan together were unstoppable. I wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything. We have always loved and appreciated what this department did for our family. We’ve always felt that we’re all trying to make the world a better, safer place together, so it feels perfectly natural to be working with them. It all ties together for me. They have been so supportive, and we have always felt lucky they were there for us.”

Both Chief of Police Chris Massey and Deputy Chief Sal Nesci expressed their enthusiasm for the program and said the addition of a station dog will have benefits for the entire community, not just the department.

“We are excited and appreciative of the opportunity to partner with K9s for Warriors to bring their Station Dog program here to the Guilford community. K9 Miller will be an asset to both police and fire departments, helping employees mitigate the cumulative stresses of their daily duties, which in turn will boost employee health as well as performance. Additionally, Miller will support our mission to provide best-in-class service to the Guilford community by being available to the public,” said Massey.

Kristin Miller praised Duro, as well as the department for its dedication to the Song family, an effort that is still ongoing.

“When you lose a child, your greatest fear is they will be forgotten. I almost cried when Detective Duro asked us to name the new dog because it meant he remembered Ethan after all these years. That Ethan mattered,” Kristin Miller said. “My hope is Miller will bring comfort and peace to children struggling or feeling sad. Dogs have a way of letting us know that we are loved.”

The Guilford PD will be conducting its 3rd annual Gun Buy Back and Safe giveaway on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Police Station. For more information, call the department at 203-453-8061.