Oneida County Sheriff’s Office unveils its newest and ‘cutest’ member to help victims of crime

ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office has introduced a new member of the team that will help with providing companionship and emotional support to victims of crimes.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Nov. 15, at the Marr-Logg Restaurant in Utica, the sheriff’s office introduced Addie, a 10-week-old purebred Golden Retriever designated as the agency’s Emotional Support Animal (ESA).

Addie will be assigned to the Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence and Mental Health and Crisis Assessment Unit. Once trained, she will work to help victims of crimes and others in crisis deal with anxiety, depression, and certain phobias.

Thanks to funding from Adirondack Bank, the purchase of Addie was possible. Investigator Edward Constantine will be Addie’s handler and she will reside with the investigator and his family when she’s not working.

The idea to get Addie came from Sheriff Rob Maciol who was talking about possibly getting an ESA at a luncheon, and Rocco Arcuri Sr., president and CEO of Adirondack Bank, overheard him.

After the luncheon, Arcuri did some research into how much an ESA can do for the community and decided he wanted to provide funding to the sheriff for the animal through Adirondack Bank.

At Wednesday morning’s event, Arcuri presented a check for $4,645.00 to Sheriff Maciol for the cost of purchasing Addie along with all of the necessary items needed for her care.

Addie came from Nevani Goldens which is owned by AKC breeder Nicole DiOrio. Tyler & Sara Raux, owners of Amarok Kennels, LLC, will be providing the necessary training for Addie at no cost to the sheriff’s office.

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