SULLIVAN — Whether she’s walking the halls of Black River Local Schools or sitting with nursing home patients, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office therapy dog Princess is a tail-wagging companion to all.
Princess was recognized for her job comforting others with the 2025 Caring Therapy Canine award, selected from nine other four-legged nominees.
Caring Therapy Canines, based in Wooster, presented Princess the award. The non-profit organization promotes “therapy dog visits and animal-assisted activities to our local community,” according to its website.
Princess is a 4-year-old yellow lab who joined the ACSO in 2023 as the office’s first therapy dog. She works with Sergeant Angie Hamilton at Black River Local Schools, where she provides support to students and helps Hamilton teach D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) lessons.
“Every time she sees kids it’s like she’s re-energized,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton has worked at ACSO for 28.5 years; she has spent 22 of those years as a D.A.R.E officer and 14 as a school resource officer.
D.A.R.E is a program for students to learn about the dangers of drugs and promotes safe decision making.
Hamilton was offered a K-9 companion twice before, but she passed them up so she could continue working in Ashland County Schools. She previously worked in Loudonville-Perrysville, Mapleton and Hillsdale schools before coming to Black River.
“I feel like I help more people here as the number of reports are more than I ever had on the road,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton teaches weekly D.A.R.E lessons to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and Princess always accompanies her to teach those lessons. While Hamilton is teaching, Princess sits next to a student, and occasionally whines for attention.
“She loves her kids. She knows the words ‘let’s go to work,’ and waits by my cruiser,” Hamilton said.
When Princess and Hamilton aren’t at the school, they’re visiting libraries, nursing homes and community events to meet Princess’ volunteer hour requirements.
How has Princess made an impact?
If a student is in crisis and is deemed nonviolent, Hamilton asks the student if they want to pet Princess. Two weeks ago, a student in crisis did not want to talk about his situation, but Hamilton’s job is to ensure students are safe at home and in school.
After spending a few minutes with Princess, the student was ready to open up to Hamilton.
Princess has also helped dog-attack victims become more comfortable around dogs again. In addition, Hamilton teaches dog-bite prevention classes to students, and Princess helps students practice how to safely approach unfamiliar dogs.
“Her demeanor brings out comfort in people; that’s how I know she makes a difference,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton credits Princess with saving her life after she had a medical issue in the summer, Princess woke her up, alerting to the problem. Later, Hamilton’s doctor told her that Princess smelled something was wrong, even though she is not a trained medical-alert dog.
But Hamilton said the biggest impact Princess makes is when she walks the school hallways between classes and students of all ages stop to pet her.