Kelowna Mounties take a break from their day with some happy puppies

Dogs help out RCMP

RCMP officers and staff at the Kelowna detachment were treated to some wagging tails and kisses this week.

Const. Mike Della-Paolera says Kelowna's BARK program stopped by and instantly boosted the morale in the building.

Building Academic Retention Through K9s (BARK) is a dog therapy program under the direction of Dr. John Tyler Binfet at UBC Okanagan.

"As soon as they walk through the door the whole building knows that they are here and they are excited to go and hang out with a nice puppy for a couple of minutes," Della-Paolera said.

Over the past five years BARK has visited the detachment weekly.

"It is going really really well. We have run a couple of studies and we know that attending a session like this and spending what we call a coffee break with the dogs is actually really beneficial for reducing members' stress, but also for increasing their overall sense of wellbeing," Freya Green, program coordinator of BARK.

On Thursday a total of four dogs and their owners were on hand.

For more information on BARK, click here.