Meet Sgt. Squelch. He’s a rescued puppy who now lives at a Texas 911 call center

Dispatchers at a Texas 911 call center have a new member on the team — and he’s going to be there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

His name is Sergeant Squelch, and his badge number is 911.

Oh, and he’s a puppy. A rescued puppy, that is.

The City of Borger, Texas, announced on Facebook that the Borger Regional Communications Center adopted Sgt. Squelch from the City of Borger Animal Shelter.

Squelch is a 3-month-old puppy, Fox26 reported. And now he lives at Hutchinson County’s communication command center.

Sgt. Squelch will be “cared for 24/7 by the Dispatcher; that is 24/7 around the clock love and care,” the city posted.

He was adopted after staff at the dispatch call center contacted city administration “about allowing a dog to be a permanent member of the team,” according to a Facebook comment by the City of Borger.

“We thought it was a great idea!” the comment continued. “While Sergeant Squelch is not an official service animal, Administration strongly believes he will be extremely beneficial after times of extreme stress in the day to day duties of Dispatch.”

Nicole Riggle, assistant administration for Municipal Court and Dispatch, told KFDA that Squelch is already bringing stress relief.

“Before him, the stress relief, you would just have to get up and leave the room,” she told the TV station.

But now the dispatchers have around-the-clock stress relief from the comfort of their desks.

“I can just reach down and pet him or just knowing that he’s there,” dispatcher Melissa Edgerton told KFDA. “Sometimes he likes to sleep under our feet under the desks and so just knowing he’s there when you can’t get out to relieve that stress, it really helps.”

Squelch will also be tagging along with dispatchers as they lead school programs and community events, according to the city’s Facebook post.

Residents of Borger are welcome to meet Squelch anytime the Borger Municipal building is open to the public.

This story was originally published September 23, 2018 at 12:16 PM.