Welcome to 52 Faces<\/strong> 52 Faces of Community<\/a> is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market<\/a>, H-E-B<\/a> and JPS Health Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was supposed to be a narcotics dog, and now, instead of finding drugs, she gives hugs,\u201d said Sgt. Jacob Hopson, who leads the team.<\/p>\n Echo\u2019s primary role is to support Fort Worth police officers, particularly after they respond to crises that may be traumatic. In three years of service, she\u2019s been deployed nearly 100 times to soothe officers after police-involved shootings, medical emergency calls, sexual assault incidents, child protective services calls and the aftermath of domestic disturbances involving children.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Her work earned her recognition in 52 Faces of Community<\/a>, Fort Worth Report\u2019s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes.<\/p>\n Echo plays and cuddles with officers to improve their mental and emotional health so they can perform their best physically, Hopson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her duties are grounded in science, not just cuteness.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 5-year-old uses her round black nose to detect pheromones and identify high levels of cortisol, commonly known as the \u201cstress hormone.\u201d Then, she uses her big brown eyes, wagging tail and sweet personality to make officers feel better.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEcho\u2019s big thing is: She\u2019s a hugger. She will physically wrap her arms around you, nestle her nose in your armpit,\u201d said Officer Autumn Branham, Echo\u2019s handler. \u201cShe just wants to be like, as close to a human as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to supporting officers, Echo is often deployed to help victims cope with trauma or to interact with the community. In three years, she has helped almost 6,000 citizens during mental health follow-ups after traumatic incidents or at neighborhood events to meet residents, Hopson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recently, Echo\u2019s job expanded to include working with the department\u2019s missing persons unit to help track missing people, often elderly or disabled. That added responsibility came with more training to support or detain missing people while officers catch up to her tracking.\u00a0<\/p>\n In total, the pup completed nearly 100 training hours including tests to teach her patience and desensitize her to chaos, such as sitting and staying in a smoke-filled room and practicing restraint around an unmonitored plate of bacon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Echo joined the police department in 2022, after the pandemic derailed her intended career path of sniffing out narcotics for a small police department in California. Instead, Echo\u2019s trainer at K9\u2019s for Freedom & Independence<\/a>, a Texas-based nonprofit that trains dogs to work for first responder agencies, offered her to the Fort Worth Police Department and switched her training to crisis response.\u00a0<\/p>\n Echo became the team\u2019s second canine, in addition to Wookie, a Catahoula leopard mix who joined the department in 2020 and trained through the same nonprofit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Costs to cover their work and care are privately funded, Hopson said, primarily through the Jane & John Justin Foundation, a Fort Worth philanthropy that funds health and human services.\u00a0<\/p>\n Know an unsung hero in Tarrant County?<\/p>\n Tell us about them by filling out the form below. <\/p>\n It\u2019s uncommon for a municipal police department to have a canine unit specifically dedicated to mental health wellness, he added.<\/p>\n From Hopson\u2019s estimation, Fort Worth\u2019s is one of few in Texas \u2014 and possibly the largest in the country as it prepares to soon welcome a third canine. Echo\u2019s role makes Fort Worth an outlier but supports a culture that police departments across the country seek to encourage: \u201cto let officers know that it\u2019s OK to not be OK.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a \u201crollercoaster\u201d to get officers accustomed to Echo\u2019s presence and willing to seek her help, Hopson said. Breaking down the stigma often associated with seeking mental health assistance \u2014 particularly in a police department \u2014 is an ongoing effort, but it helps that Echo is hard to say no to.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Branham tells her \u201cGo visit,\u201d Echo knows to find the person with the highest cortisol in a room\u00a0and focus attention on them. Sometimes, she has to demand head scratches from the more stubborn officers, but luckily, she\u2019s persistent. Signs of stress visibly reduce, Hopson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t even know that Echo is working on them. They just look at it like, \u2018I\u2019m just petting a dog.\u2019 But it\u2019s lowering that \u2018fight or flight\u2019 syndrome, bringing them back to a baseline, a normal baseline.\u201d<\/p>\n Fort Worth Police Sgt. Jacob Hopson<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Branham said she understands when officers can\u2019t find the words to talk about their feelings. With Echo, they don\u2019t have to.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest reward is seeing that deep sigh,\u201d Branham said. \u201cPeople are petting her, and you hear it. And then you\u2019re like, OK, you see that the science is working, and words aren\u2019t even needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n![\"52](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/52-faces-transparent-2.png\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1211-52FacesEcho-12--1024x683.jpg\")
Echo uses her nose to smell high levels of cortisol and provides stress relief for police officers and victims of trauma on Dec. 11, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1211-52FacesEcho-02--1024x683.jpg\")
Echo, who works for the Fort Worth Police Department and is trained for crisis response, strikes a pose Dec. 11, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1211-52FacesEcho-03--1024x683.jpg\")
Echo supports Fort Worth police staff by accepting cuddles Dec. 11, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n\n
![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1211-52FacesEcho-07--1024x683.jpg\")
Various badges are featured on Echo\u2019s Fort Worth Police Department uniform on Dec. 11, 2025. Echo works with the Crisis Intervention Team. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n