School Resource Officer Rob Sury holds 10-week-old Phoenix, Marietta Police Department’s new bernedoodle. Police Chief Katherine Warden said the department has begun using the hashtag “everything is pawsible” to mark the rebound of the therapy dog program after the death of the first therapy dog, River. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)

The sad news is, River the bernedoodle puppy is gone. The wildly popular school therapy dog who got the pats, belly rubs and friendly doggie dialogue – almost from the day she first appeared — has died.

The happy news is, Phoenix the bernedoodle therapy dog will be in Marietta school hallways as soon as possible, and it looks like she’ll have the same wonderful people skills as her predecessor.

As Marietta students return to class Wednesday, Marietta Police Department School Resource Officer R.M. “Rob” Sury knows he will be involved in helping a number of students adjust to both the sad and the happy news.

The department’s first therapy dog, River, died unexpectedly in mid-July. Marietta City Schools has released that information so that parents have the chance to discuss it with their children before they get back to school.

At the same time, the schools are emphasizing the bright spot, which is another bernedoodle puppy the Sury family has welcomed into their home, another work partner at Sury’s side when the time is right.

City of Marietta Information Technology Manager Amy Tucker plays with the Marietta Police Department’s up-and-coming therapy dog for schools. (Photo by Nancy Taylor)

Sury talked with Chief Katherine Warden about whether he would be able to resume work with a therapy dog so soon after the loss of River, who lived with Sury, his wife, Shelly, and their high school-age daughter, Kendall. It was his family’s support that convinced him to jump back into it.

“It’s not just about us, it’s for the kids,” his wife had said. “It helps us, too,” Sury added.

Phoenix is 10 weeks old right now. She was named by Chief Katherine Warden’s husband, who thought the classic tale of the phoenix rising from the ashes was an apt reference to rebirth and transformation for the Marietta police program.

The new bernedoodle won’t be in the schools until after winter break, when she has her vaccinations and obedience training completed. The basic and advanced obedience training will be done locally. The therapy dog training will be done in Franklin County when she turns 1 year old.

Phoenix, who has paws that look about the size of small pancakes, came from a breeder in Glouster, Buckeye Ridge Bernedoodles. She is receptive to everyone she comes in contact with, Sury said, although she can still get a little nervous around crowds.

“Her attention span is very short right now, because she’s just a pup,” Sury said. “She likes to play, she likes to sleep. That’s about it. Oh, and she likes belly rubs. Which is good, because the kids love to do that.”

Sury said the two rules he has about the students interacting with the therapy dog are, “Ask before you pet her. And don’t feed her anything.”

Sury and Warden are both firm believers in the school therapy dog program.

“It has tangible benefits,” Sury said. “Check with any of the school principals, any of the people who have been around it. It bridges the gap between police and schools.”

Sury said he also believes the program also has given him a better relationship with a number of high school students, since there are now students moving up who knew him and River in the lower grades.

Warden said the support of the community was apparent after River’s death, and the department is so appreciative of those efforts.

“We want to say thank you to all those different organizations who helped so that we could buy Phoenix — who was very expensive — as soon as we could,” Warden said. “All of the Go Fund Me money and other donations went into the Fraternal Order of Police Canine Fund, so technically the FOP owns her right now. The FOP is going to appear before city council to officially donate her to the city, and the names of the donors will be read then.”

Warden dismisses the few who think a school resource therapy dog is a waste of time and money.

“There can be lots of learning anxiety,” she said. “This, like the Phoenix, brings new life into the schools.”