Sgt. Bo Comforts Children After the Covenant School Shooting

On March 27th, 2023, tragedy struck at the Covenant School in Nashville, TN. Three students and three adults were killed. 

Within an hour of the attack, the students and staff were on buses headed to a reunification site, and Sgt. Bo, a therapy dog, and his Police Officer Handler, Faye, were on those buses. Bo laid with the kids. They laid on him. And they didn’t talk about the shooting; they talked about Bo. That was the point. He gave them something to hold onto that wasn’t fear.

Bo calmed children struggling with cancer, comforted staff through threats and bomb scares, and reached people who would never speak to a police officer, but would gladly kneel to pet him. His quiet presence changed hearts.

And then a quick jump, a twist, a misstep - no one really knows what happened -  and Bo tore his ACL. He needed surgery, and they did it. But for seven weeks, Bo was denied the rehabilitation he desperately needed to walk again, despite his Handler's pleas, and when he finally got it, it was too late. Bo's injuries were worse. His department told his Handler he was a financial liability, that he would need more surgeries.

After just two years on the job, they retired Sgt. Bo and shut down the entire therapy dog program for the school.

Bo's Handler adopted him. They're facing another surgery. His meniscus is torn. It’s likely tied to the setbacks from the ACL recovery. The last surgery cost $6,000. The next one will cost about $7,500, including twice weekly rehab appointments for four months afterwards. And there’s still a 40% chance his other ACL will tear.

Bo takes $100 a month in allergy meds and has the unknown future costs for the damage caused by the lack of proper rehab. He was retired at only four years old.

After being a Hero to all those children, Sgt. Bo was denied the care he needed when he needed it the most.

"Project K-9 Hero stepped in when no one else would. They covered his monthly care. They pledged to pay for his upcoming surgery and therapy. They lifted the financial burden from my shoulders.

After decades in public service, my husband and I both retired this year. My husband had no choice. He suffered a heart attack just after I left my job. I don’t know how we would have afforded this on our own.

Project K-9 Hero makes it possible for Bo to keep showing up for the kids who love him. To keep doing what he was born to do.

We’ll still be there when school starts. We’ll greet the kids as volunteers, not as a police dog team. But Bo doesn’t know the difference. He just knows the job, and he loves it, and I plan to continue doing it for him."  

- Faye Okert, Retired Police Officer Handler and Forever Partner of Sgt. Bo

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