By: Terry Oparka | Troy Times | Published November 13, 2018

Pawfficer Donut pulls the morning shift at the Troy Police Department’s Coffee with a Cop event at the Starbucks at 6908 Rochester Road Nov. 9. Photo by Terry Oparka

The Troy Police Department holds Coffee with a Cop every other month. Photo by Terry Oparka



TROY — Jenefer Bashawacty braved snowy, wet roads during her workday and stopped at the Starbucks on Rochester Road, south of South Boulevard, to pose for a selfie with Pawfficer Donut.

Bashawacty said she follows the Troy Police Department Feline Unit on Facebook.

“I have a lot of law enforcement in the family,” she said.

Pawfficer Donut made her first visit to the Troy Police Department’s Coffee with a Cop event Nov. 9.

Troy Police Sgt. Meghan Lehman said that so far Pawfficer Donut has visited a number of schools and Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Troy, as part of her duties, but the Nov. 9 event was her first stint at Coffee with a Cop.

Troy police officer Melissa Raymer explained that Coffee with a Cop is held about every other month at different times and venues throughout the city.

Ashley Burtsch, manager at Starbucks, said that she approached the Troy Police Department and asked to host a community event. She added that she wanted to host an event letting the police know that the public appreciates them.

Customers enjoyed free coffee and doughnuts during the event. Burtsch said that when she went to purchase and pay for the doughnuts, a customer at that store had anonymously “paid it forward.”

When not on the job, Pawfficer Donut lives with a dispatch staff member, who has two other cats in her home.

The Troy Police Department is active on Facebook and Twitter. This past spring, police said they would add the Feline Unit if 10,000 people followed them on Twitter — and they hit that number.

After the first feline chosen for the job couldn’t fulfill her duties due to health reasons, Pawfficer Donut was selected to represent the Troy Paw-Lease.

For information on Coffee with a Cop events, or the Feline Unit, follow the Troy Police Department on Twitter and Facebook.

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