Biography
Yale Public Safety Facility Dog Heidi arrived at Yale Public Safety in early September of 2020. Since arriving on the Yale campus, Heidi has been a wonderful asset to the Yale Public Safety Community Engagement Team. Heidi has helped reimagine public safety at Yale and the New Haven area, breaking down barriers between communities’ members and the police. Heidi comfort supports the Yale students and staff on a weekly basis. Heidi was trained by Puppies Behind Bars, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that trains service dogs for veterans and first responders. By the time facility dogs are paired with handlers at Public Safety Departments, dogs have least 10,000 hours of socialization, which means they have visited schools, libraries, houses of worship, baseball games, kid’s football games, to the movies, on city buses and on trains. All Puppies Behind Bars dogs are raised by incarcerated inmates—they have developed an empathy and responsiveness to humans which is not seen other dogs. Heidi creates smiles and joy by visiting Yale students and staff and Yale and the greater New Haven community every day.
