Clad in a yellow tie and blue vest, the Miami County Probation Department’s newest employee doesn’t know how to read or write, how to tell time or even what day of the week it is.

But what he can do is so much more than that.

He can comfort a crying child, show support to someone having a bad day and offer complete friendship without asking for anything in return.

His name’s Foster, an English Labrador, and he’s been working as a facility dog with the department since January.

But really, Chief Probation Officer Mandy Mavrick pointed out, the department’s actually been waiting for him much longer than that.