Percy the bunny is not your average pet rabbit, he has a unique job at the Yuba City Police Department in California. As the wellness officer, Percy is an outlet for stress for officers and staff who deal with a lot of difficult situations. He helps them to decompress and take a step back from their work for a minute to regroup. The idea of having a bunny as a wellness officer came as a joke, but it has become a popular and beneficial addition to the department. “Being able to hold him, pet him and just kind of step back from that situation for a minute, regroup, is vital,” Lt. Michelle Brazil said, reported Wis News 10.
Percy’s story began when Officer Ashley Carson found him abandoned while on a call. She started calling him, and he came running up to her and even stood on his hind legs. In 2002, the Yuba City Police Department assigned Percy as the Wellness Officer after increasing its focus on the mental health of its police officers. During a duty, Officer Ashley Carson discovered Percy, an abandoned rabbit. She called out to him, and he came running and stood on his hind legs. She picked him up and took him to an animal shelter.
“I started to call him, and I said, ‘Here bun, bun!’” Carson said. “He came running up to me and he stood on his hind legs, and I picked him up.”
Several weeks passed, and with no family coming forward to claim him, Chelsea McCready, a department officer, adopted him. Percy now has a home and an office with McCready, and he goes to work every day. He is affectionately referred to as “Officer Hops” and has become an integral part of the department’s well-being program.
As a wellness officer, Percy is tasked with helping officers alleviate stress. Since Percy’s appointment, he has become a therapeutic and stress-relieving tool for the officers. Even when McCready is not around, Percy works shifts as a hardworking bunny. Brazil emphasized that the long-term benefits of having Percy in the department are already being seen in just a short amount of time. Percy’s appointment as a wellness officer showcases the department’s commitment to the well-being of its officers and highlights the positive impact that animals can have on human mental health.
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