Quinsigamond Community College held a graduation last week, but not for students. The ceremony was for Siggy, QCC’s first community resource dog. Siggy recently finished months of training to be sworn in as an official community resource dog and K-9 officer with the college’s police department. His role at QCC is to provide support and de-escalation during times of stress or crisis.
“QCC was one of the first community colleges in the state to obtain a community resource dog and many are now following suit,” said QCC President Dr. Luis G. Pedraja. “The students, faculty and staff have been overjoyed to have Siggy’s presence on campus.”
Community Resource Officer and Siggy’s handler, Nick Yacuzzi, has spent countless hours in training with Siggy noting that the training process was rigorous but effective. Siggy’s training was completed at Golden Opportunities for Independence (GoFi), which trains dogs for a variety of settings such as schools and healthcare facilities. Siggy’s final certification was the Public Access Test, which evaluates the dog’s performance in crowded public areas such as a grocery store or a large event. The test requires the dog to remain calm and obey commands during the entire experience.
“These dogs are exposed to many different situations and taught to show control and affection to anyone they encounter,” Officer Yacuzzi said, adding, “I cannot count the number of times when walking around with Siggy on campus that students have stopped to pet him and said, ‘I needed this.’”
QCC’s Chief of Police Stephen DiGiovanni was quick to commend Officer Yacuzzi for his research and initiative in bringing a community resource dog to QCC, as an additional way for the police to engage with the campus community.
“I cannot say enough about Officer Yacuzzi’s commitment and loyalty to QCC,” Chief DiGiovanni said. “These types of K-9s are an exciting development in police work, providing a valuable resource to the public.”