Hot Dog

One of TU’s most popular Tigers is a playful, adorable dog who is trained to provide comfort to members of the university community—one belly scratch at a time.

Meet Bruno, the 1-year-old chocolate lab who arrived on campus last year, after a 2023 Big Give donor established a fund to bring a comfort dog on campus, provide training and pay for his care. Bruno spent the first few months of his life studying for his new role while living with his handler, public safety patrol officer Sgt. Jafar Taru, and his family. In fact, Taru’s daughter suggested the pup’s name—which the TU community agreed with, overwhelmingly supporting it in a naming contest.

“She fell in love with him right away,” says Taru. “Bruno is very energetic, very smart, very outgoing. He has the right temperament [for his work], where everybody just walks up to him, and he looks for that attention. Other dogs, they might shy away from it, but it's like almost built into his DNA to interact with people. Watching him progress through all the environments throughout campus with the construction, the noises, the marching band has been great.”

Bruno debuted in February 2024 and will have spent more than 200 days on campus by the end of the calendar year.

Since his arrival, he’s been settling in and learning basic commands, but as he reached his first birthday—Nov. 8—he and Taru will start more formal training. The pair did a test run with Baltimore County police in June.

“They wanted to evaluate our partnership and see Bruno's temperament—if he had any aggression, if he was good for the job that he's planning on doing. And he passed. They really liked him,” Taru says. “He was among other trained K9 dogs—Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, other chocolate labs that are drug dogs, gun dogs and bite dogs. He wanted to play with them, and they're just sitting there like, ‘No, we don't play here.’”

Bruno is very energetic, very smart, very outgoing. He has the right temperament [for his work], where everybody just walks up to him, and he looks for that attention.

Sgt. Jafar Taru

But Bruno’s not just shaking paws and licking babies when he’s on the job. He is a key part of the Office of Public Safety’s community policing efforts.

“Community policing really boils down to transparency and involvement with the community, getting them to see your value to them and your ability to bring resources to help solve problems that affect their quality of life,” says Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police Charles “Joe” Herring.

The TU police department has more than 40 fully sworn officers who work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year providing the full range of patrol, investigative and crime prevention services.

The Office of Public Safety offers a variety of free safety programs for students, faculty and staff, including SafeWalk and SafeRide, emergency text alerts, the SaferMobility app and engraving on and registration of personal property like computers, tablets, phones and bikes.

The TUPD oversees dedicated security officers in each university-owned residence hall as well as assigns an officer who maintains primary responsibility for that building’s safety. There are also emergency and blue light phones and safety cameras stationed around the university.

But perhaps the most important strategy TU’s officers employ is community outreach.

My goal ultimately is to get those operational pieces solved as quickly as I can and then expand to a second and, ultimately, a third comfort dog.

Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police, Charles “Joe” Herring

The TUPD holds a variety of community events to promote crime prevention and safety. These include Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Coffee with a Cop, Safety Day, Mascot Days at athletic events, night walks to identify and resolve safety concerns and more.

In addition, TUPD’s Community Outreach Unit works closely with leaders in the campus community to provide security and safety programs, presentations and workshops throughout the year on topics like active shooter training, emergency preparedness, basic street sense, identity theft and vehicle safety among others. 

TU community members outside the Office of Public Safety have pitched in as well.

Members of divisions across campus have created the Tiger Advocacy Advisory Team (TAAT) to educate and support students with activism on and off campus and serve as the liaison between administrators, the TUPD and students. TAAT also provides on-the-spot assistance at spontaneous demonstrations, including sharing information on campus policies and local, state and federal laws.

“They do a good job of helping to keep the temperature down at [potentially volatile] events,” Herring says. “They have a different relationship with the students [than the Office of Public Safety], and they can interact with them. And the students hear them when they speak.”

One of the initiatives the chief is most proud of, though, has four legs and a tail.

“When I first came to Towson, we had a traditional K9 dog,” he says. “We’ve also had a controlled, dangerous substance (CDS)-trained dog, and we have an explosives/firearms detection dog. More recently, we have Sgt. Taru and Bruno. He came here as a very young puppy and grew up in this building with all the officers around him and on campus with all the people.”

Bruno is already a Big Dog on Campus, which Taru sees as a big part of TUPD’s community policing efforts.

“Me walking around alone, people wouldn't come up to me,” he says. “Seeing people come to me saying, ‘Oh, is that Bruno? Can I pet him?’ And seeing those same people over and over and building a relationship with them is a big plus. You want people to not just see police officers as enforcement, here to scold you about something or issue a citation.”

Bruno’s sole focus is people pleasing. Whether that is in a positive situation—collecting belly rubs while escorting President Ginsberg around campus—or soothing individuals who’ve been the victim of a crime or involved in an altercation.

“The dog has a very calming effect, and he’s pretty empathetic to people,” Herring says. “We get an overwhelming number of requests for Bruno. He's very popular, does a great job and has the desired effect at all the different events.”

Being popular does require some decompression time. Like most dogs, Bruno loves a butt scratch and to play with his tug toy. He lights up and does a doggy dance when he hears the words “pup cup.” He’ll snack on carrots and has his favorite shows.

The dog has a very calming effect, and he’s pretty empathetic to people.

Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police, Charles “Joe” Herring

“He does watch TV. He will look at Animal Planet or Disney shows,” Taru says. “Our favorite show is ‘The Mandalorian.’ He will watch that like a child watches TV. It's amazing to see him do that. He also definitely likes ‘Star Wars.’”

TU’s comfort dog program has already exceeded the goals and expectations Herring initially had. This past year has been a learning experience, uncovering operational needs that weren’t immediately apparent, such as having vehicles dogs can get into and out of easily and building in de-stressing breaks for dogs and their handlers. Herring wants to address these challenges before Bruno gets any more furry colleagues.

“My goal ultimately is to get those operational pieces solved as quickly as I can and then expand to a second and, ultimately, a third comfort dog, so we can put them out across the three shifts,” he says.

In the meantime, Bruno will enjoy being TU’s top dog.

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