Whitestown council hears presentation introducing police therapy dog ‘Barks’ funded by donors

The Town of Whitestown Town Council on June 11 heard a presentation from the Whitestown Police Department introducing a therapy K-9 named Barks, a donor-funded program intended to assist on high-stress calls and in community outreach.

Sergeant Klinger, who described himself as Barks’ primary handler, told the council he pursued the program after attending a Central Indiana Police Foundation conference and working with departments that run therapy-canine programs. “I’ve stumbled upon a lot of case studies that showed a lot of psychological and physiological benefits of having a dog present,” he said, and described short interactions that eased stress for crash victims and other people on calls.

Barks arrived two weeks before the meeting after about eight months of training, Klinger said. The program is funded at no cost to the town: Central Indiana Police Foundation and a Coca-Cola donor group covered roughly half the initial cost, and other donors — identified in the presentation as the Hershey Foundation and M.I. Holmes — donated related items including stuffed toy versions of Barks. Central Indiana Police Foundation accepted the major donation and helped with initial purchases to allow the handler to keep Barks at home.

Council members praised the program as community policing and noted planned outreach activities: reading events at the library described as a “books with Barks” program, regular neighborhood patrol visits, and distribution of small Barks toys and challenge coins. The department said officers will deploy Barks to secure, calm scenes where the dog can help lower stress.

No vote or budget action was required at the meeting; presenters said the program was implemented with donated funds and that the department will continue to report back on use and partnerships.