Remi the therapy dog enjoys a moment with Jami Diederick, one of her many fans at the Moorhead Police Department. (Photos/Nancy Hanson)

MPD therapy dog Remi.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson 

The most welcome visitor in Moorhead’s Law Enforcement Center has an enthusiastic smile, an appealing personality … plus four paws and a vigorously wagging tail.

“Remi is good at reading who likes having her around and who’s not interested,” owner Megan Landborg says. “Pretty much everyone likes her, except for a few who are allergic.”

The 8-year-old golden retriever isn’t the first canine to work with the Moorhead Police Department. Two hard-working Malinois-German shepherd K9s currently work with sworn officers. But Remi is literally a different breed. While Gimli and Dex are part of the department’s crime-fighting team, aloof from distracting pleasantries, the graceful golden is there for the officers and staff themselves – providing comfort, easing stress, and brightening moods simply by being there.

The presence of a trained therapy dog, Lundborg points out, is part of the focus on officers’ and staff wellness begun by former Chief Shannon Monroe. Aaron Suomala Folkerds had been serving as the department’s part-time mental health professional for four years when, at the end of 2024, she and the chief began considering how to add a canine.

Their interest was triggered by a new grant available through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety supporting the addition of therapy dogs for police and fire departments. Lundborg wrote and won the $10,000 grant supporting acquisition of an animal.

They didn’t need to look far. “I’ve had Remi since she was a puppy,” she reports. “She was already mostly trained for this work, so we didn’t have to look further.”

The MPD isn’t Remi’s first therapy assignment. Lundborg, a civilian employed as the department’s community resource officer, had volunteered Remi as a therapy animal during her previous job with Youthworks, the Fargo nonprofit that works with runaway, homeless, trafficked, and at-risk youth. The dog has a long list of credentials, including the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog certification and Animal Assistance Crisis Response training from Pet Partners,

While Lundborg herself has completed training to be certified as a handler, her dog too has passed extensive testing to ensure good behavior. That includes mundane matters like walking on a leash and obeying standard commands – “sit,” “stay” – to displaying appropriate, nonaggressive behaviors and, in Lundborg’s words, “keeping four on the floor.” She’s a laid-back kind of girl, calmly hanging out when not begging for treats, petting or belly rubs from fans who populate the LEC.

Though she’s ready to be a friend to all, Remi doesn’t roam the department on her own. She accompanies her handler to meetings that bring officers together, from morning patrol officers’ briefings to critical incident reviews.

She often struts through departments to brighten her human coworkers’ days. She’s a special favorite, Lundborg adds, in the Records Department, where the staff maintains a treat bucket on her behalf.

Lundborg’s primary MPD assignment is to connect with those experiencing mental health issues, reducing repeat calls to the department by connecting them with community resources. Remi’s recruitment, she says, brightens her own days as well. Her dog generally lounges at her feet, greeting official visitors and her own fans alike, between official meetings throughout the building. She does not accompany her owner to meetings with other agencies, however: “They have their own policies about therapy animals in their offices.”

As for the MPD, her presence can be a boon and a blessing. “We didn’t know how this would work out in the beginning, but it’s been a success. Our officers have been very receptive to her presence,” Lundborg reports. Remi noses around and makes her presence known, politely hanging back when not the center of attention, but stepping up when she catches someone’s eye. Those are the moments when she nudges a friend, old or new, wagging her tail and soliciting the kind of attention that brighten everyone’s day.