Unable to leave her home due to being on palliative care, with a terminal prognosis, 7-year-old Elayah was saddened. She wanted to attend Public Safety Day, specifically to see the Police K-9s. Word reached K9 Officer Rob Prichard and he immediately began planning to bring parts of Public Safety Day to Elayah.
Officers Tony Hawk, Logan Westerfield, and Isaiah Mizell, accompanied by Dixie The Praying Dog and her handler, joined Officer Prichard for the special visit.
With the sun shining just outside her window, she likely heard the commotion outside, as other residents stepped out to see multiple police vehicle pull-up and turn on their emergency lights to catch her attention.
Officer Prichard approached her home, with his K9 partner, Jocko, and could see Elayah at the front entry, with tears streaming down her face, and a smile that could mend a broken heart. She was elated!
For the next half hour, Elayah learned about Jocko, some basic commands that K9 handlers use, got to meet Dixie, and learned about Plainfield PD ERT. To top it off, several small tokens/gifts from the event were given to her to help brighten her day.
Elayah had an impact on these officers. Through all the adversity, challenges she is facing – she was happy, energetic, and cheerful and even thanked everyone who came by.
This is not uncommon for officers to go out of their way to help someone else or to cheer someone up. Plainfield PD supports and encourages officers to take these opportunities and we encourage all law enforcement to share your stories that are like this. You never know how someone’s life may be impacted by a simple act of kindness – more importantly, how your life may be impacted”.
Source: Plainfield Police Department
