Percy the Wellness Officer.Photo: Courtesy of Yuba City Police Department
Meet Percy the B9-Cop.
Police Officer Ashley Carson spotted a bunny in the middle of the road while on patrol in Yuba City, California. It was 2 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2022, no one was around, so Carson stopped, opened her patrol car door and called to the stray rabbit.
“She said, ‘Here Bun-Bun!’ and he ran up to her without even any hesitation,” says Lt. Michelle Brazil, the City of Yuba City Police Department’s public information officer. “He hopped up into her arms.”
The rabbit did a ride-along during the rest of the officer’s shift that evening. In the morning, Carson turned him over to animal control hoping his owner would come forward and claim him.
The police department sent out an inter-office email with a picture of the bunny saying, “Look what Ashley found last night!”
That message caught the eye of Chelsea McCready, police services analyst. When no one came forward to claim the bunny, McCready adopted him. Now, she brings him to work every day.
Percy, named after the road on which he was found, has been deputized as the department’s “Wellness Animal.” He even has a custom vest that says “Police B9.”
Officer Ashley Carson holds Percy on the night he was found.Courtesy of Yuba City Police Department
The bunny cop has a spot in McCready’s office with a cage, tunnel, food and toys. “She opens up the cage, and he kind of free roams through our department, so employees will just step back from their day, and take a moment or two or and visit with him and pet him or hold him,” Brazil says. “We’ve just seen a lot of really great benefits of taking a break from your stressful day to cuddle with an animal and then jump right back into your day — your mind just resets.”
Percy, she adds, is “very social.”
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“He loves the attention,” Brazil says. “If you don’t want to pick him up, he’ll just lay on the floor right next to you and you can just pet him for as long as you want to, and he’ll stay there for the whole thing. He never is like, ‘Okay, I’ve had enough. Now I’m leaving.’ He will stay there the entire time.”
Percy has become central to the department’s wellness program, too. “It gives you that mental break that you need and kind of recharges you,” Brazil adds. “It naturally puts you in a better mood.”
Brazil says she likes the “fun surprise” of seeing Percy hopping around the office.
“You’re not expecting him,” she says. “You’re just maybe in a zone or you’ve got something on your mind, and then you walk around the corner and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, a bunny!’ "
Brazil says the only tiny downside is the rabbit does shed a bit.
“But we have plenty of rollers around here to take care of that,” Brazil says. “It’s worth it!”
source: people.com
