Retired Police Dog Wins American Humane Hero Dog Award

Sergeant Bo’s story with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department began long before awards and national attention. It starts with a working dog and his handler quietly showing up for their community day after day.

From Metro Nashville PD to Comfort Dog

Photo shared on the Metro Nashville PD Facebook page

Sergeant Bo was a member of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department with his handler Faye Okert who has also since retired. Sergeant Bo went on to become a comfort dog.

For more on the science behind everyday kindness, see The Science of Kindness: Why Doing Good Feels Amazing.

The American Humane Hero Dog Awards

For the last fifteen years, the American Humane Hero Dog Awards have celebrated dogs whose work changes human lives. Understanding the award gives context to why Sergeant Bo’s recognition matters so much.

How the Hero Dog Awards Work

Over the past 15 years, there has been a nationwide competition that has “invited dog owners across America to nominate their canine heroes. Whether they’re service dogs helping people with disabilities, therapy dogs bringing comfort to those in need, or family pets who have shown unexpected bravery, we honor them all.” There are five finalists out of 25 nominees. For 2025 the finalists were:

The 2025 Finalists

• Donald, Category: Service and Guide/Hearing Dogs, Superpower: Intuitive guidance and life-saving protection
• Harrison, Category: Law Enforcement & First Responder Dogs, Superpower: Tracking down evidence
• K9 Ultra, Category: Military Dogs, Superpower: Seamlessly transitioning from play-mode to mission-mode
• Lieutenant Dan, Category: Emerging Hero and Shelter Dogs, Superpower: Spreading joy and confidence with every smile
• WINNER: Sergeant Bo, Category: Therapy Dogs, Superpower: Providing comfort

Sergeant Bo’s Journey From Stray to Hero

Behind the title “hero dog” is a much longer story of a scruffy stray who found purpose through training and service. This section follows Sergeant Bo from the streets of Florida to his role as a therapy dog in Nashville.

From Florida Streets to Paws & Stripes College

Sergeant Bo is described as having a smooth black coat, white soul patch goatee and mohawk. One source said, “the dog has the look of a grizzled police veteran down pat.”

He is a mutt found wandering the streets of Florida in 2022. He was taken in by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes College. The program trains homeless dogs to be therapy dogs.

Serving Nashville’s Students

Up until an injury in January of 2025, Sergeant Bo worked for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as a therapy dog. Along with his handler Faye Okert. The pair had been working together since December 2022.

He would visit Nashville’s public schools and comfort students as well as staff in an effort to deal with the mental health crisis. Okert said, “He does so much more than us with two legs could ever do.”

The two visited 200 schools and Bo earned a therapy excellence certification from the American Kennel Club. In 2023, Sergeant Bo was named First Responder Paws Therapy Top Dog by FHE Health, a mental health and addiction facility located in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Okert could not be prouder, saying, “It’s the best thing as a police officer. I almost didn’t turn him in. I didn’t think he had a chance of winning. There were dogs from different states that had been working for years.”

Sergeant Bo became famous for comforting students and faculty at the Covenant School in Nashville. On March 27, 2023, a gunman shot and killed three children and three adults. Though he had only been in the game for two months, Sergeant Bo “handled the situation with ease, and he helped give Covenant students and staff the comfort they needed,” according to Okert.

To read another story about people showing up for each other in difficult moments, see Military Family Always Has Your Back.

How Sergeant Bo Changed a Community

When people describe Sergeant Bo, they focus less on his awards and more on the way he made others feel. Their words capture how one dog helped hold a community together after unimaginable loss.

Words From American Humane and Okert

President and CEO of the American Humane Society and co-creator of the yearly Hero Dog Awards campaign Dr. Robin Ganzert spoke highly of Sergeant Bo. According to Ganzert Sergeant Bo “embodies everything American Humane Society looks for in a hero dog: service, resiliency, and love.”

She went on to say, “His work offering comfort and confidence to the kids of Nashville is a beautiful testament to the healing power of the human-animal bond. Sergeant Bo’s transformation from a shelter pet living on the street to a police therapy dog serving his community should inspire us all. We are honored to celebrate this scruffy superstar and crown him as America’s 2025 Hero Dog.”

In an interview with the American Humane Society, handler Okert said, “I believe that when he walks into a room, he knows who needs his help. We have a voice and we use words, (but) Bo doesn’t need a voice. He has his calm demeanor, he has his eyes. People look into his eyes, and they instantly fall in love. They instantly feel safe and comforted.”

American Humane also had a lot to say, particularly about the tragedy at the Covenant School, “Bo remained a steady source of comfort and safety during the community’s darkest hours. In the weeks that followed, students would run right to him and Officer Okert from their cars at drop-off, and teachers still recall how much safer they felt with Bo nearby.”

For more background on the tragedy at The Covenant School, see reporting from AP News.

Retirement, Rest, and Weekly Visits

An injury may have ended Sergeant Bo’s official duties, but it didn’t end his commitment to the people he loves. His retirement looks a lot like his working life: full of connection, comfort, and quiet routines.

Life After the Badge

In January 2025, Bo tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which is common in dogs. This led to him retiring.

Okert did not want to work without Bo by her side, and also retired shortly after. Now Sergeant Bo is enjoying his retirement.

He is eating duck jerky like a king and snuggling with Okert and her husband. Though he is off the clock for the rest of his life, he still visits Covenant School every week and some other local schools.

His work as a therapy dog will not soon be forgotten. He brought light into a dark time and brought a community together.

If you’re reflecting on what it means to truly rest without having to earn it, you might also like Why I Stopped Earning My Rest.