Ezmae, The EntrePAWneur UWMPD K9

Walking across the UW-Milwaukee campus, students rush past one another, feeling the tension of homework, exams, internships, and balancing their newfound adult life in the air. Many are in their own bubble with music at the loudest setting playing through earbuds, as they march on to their next obligation. All heads turn, and all isolation and stress melt away at the sight of a wagging, golden tail.

Ezmae, UWMPD’s first-ever K9 officer, celebrated her first anniversary of service this last August. She is a 2-year-old golden retriever, whom UWMPD received as a donation from Partners with Paws, according to Officer Mindy Wucherer, Ezmae’s handler.

According to the National Police Dog Foundation, police dogs, or K9s, are dogs “specifically trained to assist members of law enforcement.” The most common police dogs are dogs that are
trained to patrol sensitive areas by protecting officers and/or apprehending suspects, or detecting drugs and explosives. Some K9s have a singular purpose, while some are “dual purpose” dogs, trained to perform multiple tasks. Regardless of the task, all K9 officers must go through basic obedience training first.

Wucherer comes from a family dedicated to helping their community, with a father and two brothers who are firefighters, and a mother who was a nurse. The will to be a police officer
has always been ingrained in her. She has served at UWMPD intermittently since 2009, for a total of eight years after her 10-year leave spanning from 2012 to 2022.

Wucherer, Ezmae’s handler, took the initiative in bringing Ezmae to the UW-Milwaukee campus after researching other campus police dogs, such as Blue at Marquette PD.

“I saw a bunch of other law enforcement agencies in the area started getting facility dogs, and I had never really heard of that,” Wucherer said. “So I started researching.”

Ezmae is the first facility dog that UW-Milwaukee has ever had. Facility dogs differ slightly from traditional K9s, as they don’t always perform patrol or detection tasks. Ezmae is trained to
provide deep pressure therapy, which applies firm and gentle pressure to soothe the nervous system. It has been proven to be effective for individuals with anxiety, depression and autism
according to Lana Bestbier and Tim I Williams of the Priors Court Foundation in Thatcham, UK.

“She’s been helpful for specifically for any victims of crimes,” Wucherer said, “not too many of those, there’s been a few, but also just walking around campus so students dealing with their normal day-to-day stress life of school or personal life, or if they miss their pets at home, they’re always pretty comforted by seeing Ezmae.”

Officers and dispatchers alike expressed how great it is to have Ezmae on the task force and around the station.

“It’s a lot of fun to have Ezmae here,” Officer Craig Goldsmith said. “She’s a great distraction from work or writing reports. We do some deep pressure therapy together, and then we get to call it training.”

Linsey Weaver, a dispatcher for the UWMPD, mentioned that the calm presence of Ezmae brings joy to everyone at the station.

“After I get done petting her, my pants get a little fuzzy with her hair,” Weaver said with a chuckle.

Another reason for Ezmae joining the task force is to help college students feel able to approach the police and seek help when needed, instead of being afraid to do so.

“I wish they knew we’re here to help them,” Wucherer said. “Our priority is to teach them. It’s college, right? We want them to learn how to be good adults, to learn right from wrong if they haven’t learned that prior, and we want to give them the opportunities to succeed in college.”

Students have said that having a dog present has made the campus police feel more personable and approachable.

Cerys Hattersly, a senior kinesiology major, who works as a
summer orientation leader on campus, has experienced Ezmae attending the trainings that the campus employees have, especially for serious and heavy subject matter.

“Having Ezmae in the community makes the bonds a little bit stronger,” Hattersly said. “You may not really want to talk to the police, but having a dog there makes it a little bit more welcoming
and open.”

Students looking to meet Ezmae can contact UWMPD to schedule a meeting.