San Mateo County highlighted a suite of wellness initiatives for 911 dispatchers, including a certified therapy dog named Garrett, support groups, an internal well‑being committee and a mindfulness app rolled out this week.

Christine described Garrett as a 6½‑year‑old Lab‑Golden cross raised in the dispatch center who now serves as a certified therapy dog. "We just did our first survey of dispatchers regarding the therapy dog program and found that it's wildly successful," she said, describing reduced stress and higher morale among staff who interact with Garrett.

Espino said the county moved dispatch out of a basement ‘bunker’ into a regional operations center known as The Rock in November 2019 and commissioned a 2021 well‑being analysis that led to specific recommendations. The department now holds a monthly dispatch support group and maintains an eight‑member well‑being committee composed of dispatchers to identify resources and peer supports.

Among recent steps, Espino said the county implemented an app called Mindbase that send reminders and prompts to dispatchers to breathe and check in after difficult calls. "What this does is this app basically reminds the dispatcher to breathe, to check-in on yourself," she said, adding the app supplements peer support and clinical resources.

Officials said those layered supports — facilities, peer groups, a therapy animal and an app — are part of an ongoing effort to reduce job stress and retain staff. The county did not provide quantitative measures of stress reduction beyond the initial therapy-dog survey cited on the episode.