On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Tildy, the UConn Police Department’s first community outreach dog, will formally celebrate her retirement after seven years of serving – and delighting – the UConn community.
Meeting Tildy has been a staple of the UConn experience, bringing immense amounts of joy to everyone she encounters on the Great Lawn, Fairfield Way, Horsebarn Hill, and pretty much every place at UConn where crowds gather, as well as classrooms and courthouses across the state.
Tildy’s retirement is bittersweet for UConn, but for one member of the community in particular: Sergeant Justin Cheney ’07 (CLAS), her human partner ever since her arrival in 2018. Cheney has experienced so many events and moments at UConn he wouldn’t normally be part of, all thanks to Tildy. From Sunset Yoga to the Involvement Fair to HuskyTHON, students’ excitement at Tildy’s meant that Cheney was able to become even more immersed in campus life.
“I knew that by bringing this dog here, we’re going to get more people to engage in our events,” he says. “I never realized how much she would transcend in the sense that we would be invited to, and included in, all of these different events on campus.”
UConn dog lovers need not despair, though: Tildy’s little sister Jazmine, a 2-year-old golden retriever, completed her training with Cheney in August 2024, and will take over as community outreach dog on a full-time basis this month.
Tildy wasn’t just a pioneer at UConn: Cheney and UConn piloted the Community Outreach Facility Dog Program in Connecticut. Cheney, who started at the UConn Police Department in 2015, working in the Community Outreach Department running programs and trainings, had the idea of getting a dog to assist in areas like victim support or therapy sessions, to better engage the community and enhance the approachability of Community Outreach officers.
Inspired by the Eastern Washington University Police Department and their yellow lab, Cheney contacted them in hopes of bringing a dog to Storrs. They directed him to Canine Companions, an organization that trains service dogs who go on to provide one-on-one assistance to people. However, not all dogs matriculate as service dogs, and sometimes need alternative placements.
Tildy is what is known as a Facility Dog: “A dog that has all of the training as a service dog, but would go into a larger setting to assist multiple people, instead of just assisting one person each and every day,” Cheney says.
Today, there are now 20 handlers and teams of Community Outreach Facility Dog Programs in Connecticut. “Being the first program in the state shows our commitment to supporting our students, which really was the extra drive for wanting to organize this program,” Cheney says. “The goal was to be able to provide that additional layer of victim assistance and ensure that the dogs will always be there for these services.”
The duo’s frequent appearances on campus have allowed Cheney to establish quality relationships with students. “We want to make sure our consistency, in terms of our presence at different events or hosting our own, hopefully goes a long way in showing the students that we care and want to be involved,” he says. “We want to participate in as many things as we can but also provide that support and assistance in any way possible.”
When looking back on highlights of their time together, Cheney recalls the countless number of smiles he’s seen Tildy bring to students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
“To see that positive impact and how much she’s done at UConn makes me so happy,” he says. “I feel so lucky to be able to bring this dog around to help people, and feel so rewarded to have this experience.”
Although Tildy’s retirement means she will not be on campus every day anymore, don’t be surprised if you see her happy face and wagging tail from time to time.
“This is not the last time Tildy will be on campus,” Cheney says. “She’ll make her way back every once in a while for events that I know she’d love to attend.”
Tildy’s retirement celebration will be held on Feb. 4 in the Wilbur Cross North Reading Room from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.. Join Cheney, Jazmine and other community outreach facility dogs in saying farewell to Tildy!
