NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In tragedies there are all sorts of heroes who emerge. Sometimes being a source of comfort is a very powerful thing. There's a local duo who might just get some national attention soon.
Through the halls of Goodlettsville Elementary, the lines slowed as the kids visited with a friend, a little dog named Sgt. Bo.
This was his routine at the school. He gets his french toast sticks from teacher Ally Galat. Then, it's time to see everybody. It's good to be adored.
"Everybody loves him!" one child shouted. "What type of dog is Bo?"
"He's 100% Good Boy!" said Bo's handler, Faye Okert.
Faye spent 34 years with the Metro Nashville Police Department. In her years working as a school resource officer, Faye thought kids would find comfort in a therapy dog.
Three years ago, Bo was a stray living on the streets of Cocoa Beach, Florida. He was taken in to animal control.
"He had no attention for adoptions, but the Brevard County Sheriff's Department liked his temperament," Faye remembered. "He was trained by inmates for three months. It was the Paws and Stripes [non-profit] in Brevard County."
At first sight, Bo wasn't what Faye imagined for a therapy dog.
"Never judge a book by the cover, because you'll miss out on your best friend," Faye said.
Sgt. Bo had only been a metro police therapy dog for a few weeks when a morning came in March 2023. After drop-offs, bus drivers for Metro Nashville Public Schools were urgently pulled back together and sent out. They were needed to pick up children after the shooting at The Covenant School. Faye and Bo were also needed.
"The supervisor asked us to get on each school bus with [Bo]," she remembered. "'It'll comfort the kids. Explain what's going on.' He went down the aisles. The kids were petting him. While the kids were waiting at the church to be reunited with their parents, he stayed with them. There's a teacher who said she remembers him getting on the bus and how safe they felt."
Faye and Bo are today both retired from metro police. They still come to schools and visit friends like seven-year-old Charlie Sommers.
"He has baby doll eyes like my other dog!" Charlie laughed.
"Is he a nice dog?" I asked him.
"Really nice."
Charlie has been friends with Bo for much of the time he's lived with leukemia. He has his own stuffed Bo, actually.
"You can see it!" Charlie said, holding up his stuffed Bo. "Sgt. Bo!"
Faye said Bo may be retired, but friendships with kids like Charlie show the good work he's still doing.
Right now, Bo's up for the American Humane Society's Hero Dog Awards. He's in the therapy dog category. Votes for him can be made every 24 hours through September 15.
Charlie and a few friends were doing a little something to help him.
"Vote for Bo!" a group of Goodlettsville Elementary students shouted, all holding up Vote for Bo signs.
"He's my partner and my best friend," Faye said. "The impact that we have made together and he has made is phenomenal."
Sgt. Bo. 100 percent Good Goy.
If you want to vote for Sgt. Bo, visit here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Music lessons for just 50 cents! A Nashville music school has been providing that to area students for over 40 years including for the city's current mayor. As a child, I always wanted to take piano lessons. I was able to for about 6 months but had to stop due to family finances. I would have loved to have had access to a program like this at the W. O. Smith Music School.
- Lelan Statom
