By Michele Taranto

The nostalgic song will forever be in Norwood hearts from now on; for the young who have revived the tune, and the old who can remember the day. Bright brown eyes, beautiful face, welcoming personality, and walks around town always wearing a tan coat. If for some reason you haven’t met or seen Norwood’s newest resident, Mustang Sally has arrived!

Before Sally arrived, Norwood had never had a comfort dog. When the benefits of these animals were gaining popularity in police precincts, Norwood Chief of Police Brooks did not think Norwood was set up for this accompaniment to the force. 

“When these dogs first hit the scene a few years ago, I remembered seeing a piece on TV about the dog in Franklin,” Chief Brooks said. “And they showed him kind of wandering the halls in and out of offices. The Franklin Police Dept. is a one story building that’s very open once you get inside. Our station, on the other hand, is a narrow three-story building with a lot of security doors and barriers, by design. I just didn’t think the dog was a fit, based in part on that. 

A tragedy that effected Norwood changed his mind.

Then when Tyler Lawrence was murdered in Boston, police departments from the area, brought their comfort dogs to our middle school to help comfort the kids,” Chief Brooks said. “Tyler was a young man whose mother brought him to Norwood to get him out of Boston, but he was murdered visiting his grandparents on a weekend. Very tragic story that hit many students very hard. Sometime after the comfort dogs visited the school, Officer Baguma brought forward a proposal that we rethink the issue of a comfort dog. I’m glad he did, because having given it more thought I now see the great value in having one. Quite frankly, she is a bigger hit than I even imagined.” 

Although Mustang Sally is an officially on the Norwood Police Department, she is still in training, but that is not to say she is not already fulfilling her duties or responsibilities.

“Best I can tell, her job is to be calm and furry,” Chief Brooks said. “But seriously, she will interact with children, and in some cases adults and senior citizens. (She has already been to the senior center where she was also a big hit.) I believe, as the term implies, she will be a comfort to people who may be in distress, particularly children in a school setting. She is also a natural draw. We saw that at the Pride Picnic where Officer Baguma had her on the grass and people were walking straight for her, wanting to pat her and take a photo. So she has that effect of drawing people to her, and therefore, towards us.” 

While the original proposition to bring on a comfort dog was came from Officer Baguma and Chief Brooks was able to clearly see the benefits of a comfort dog, there were other government officials who were brought into discussions.

“I discussed it first with Deputy Chief Padden, and then he and I met with Officer Baguma,” Chief Brooks said. “And since the dog would be in the schools, my next call was to the school superintendent, Dr. Thomson who had the support of the principals at the high school and middle school. I also discussed it with Mr. Mazzucco.”

It was only a couple of months that as a group we were able to talk about the importance of a comfort/therapy dog, then make it a reality,” Officer Baguma said. “Once again, I tip my hat to the Chief, the Deputy Chief, the Norwood Police Association, the Town Manager, and the School Superintendent. 

Some Norwood residents may remember name submissions were solicited through Facebook and students to name Norwood’s newest four-legged recruit. 

Early on, several of us suggested the name Sally,” Chief Brooks said. “It’s a pretty name for a pretty girl, and the mustang connection seemed natural. But we were committed to asking the children and the people of the town for input. And as it turns out, Sally was the clear front runner as we gathered input.”

Mustang Sally is partnered with Officer Baguma, both on duty and at home as she will live with Baguma and his family while she is ‘off’ duty. But their days are not just spent visiting the community, there is a lot of work done behind the scenes by this new dynamic duo!

“I have already mentioned that Sally has been a big hit, but I want to talk about what a great job Officer Baguma has done with her and with this project,” Chief Brooks said.  “As I mentioned, she lives with him, and his family, which must have taken some adjustment on their part. And there is a training regimen, which requires him to train three hours per day with her for four days every week.”

It feels pretty awesome having a really well behaved dog as a partner,” Officer Baguma said. “It almost feels like I/we won the lottery. I am pleasantly surprised to see how her popularity is absolutely skyrocketing, both in and outside of the town.” 

Norwood residents have welcomed Mustang Sally with open arms. Everywhere she goes, she seems to draw a crowd, and happy faces. She already has an ice cream flavor named after her at Daddy’s Dairy and her puppy cards almost sold out immediately, even with a double order!

Mustang Sally met with her siblings at last month’s Coffee with a Cop, at Perks, last month. And while she was smaller than others in her family, she was definitely the spunkiest! Her ease with meeting the public was almost like she knew her role as soon as she arrived.

“We believe that she was the pick of the litter,” Officer Baguma said. “And also believe that she actually chose us in the end.