Cat named D-O-G is the star of this dog-training facility

ST. LOUIS — A cat with an unlikely name has an important job at a training center for dogs.

Support Dogs Inc. in St. Louis took in the black-and-white cat over the summer and named him D-O-G (dee-OH’-jee). He’s more than a mascot — officials say he plays a key role getting the dogs comfortable around other animals. Assistance dogs need to be well-behaved and not be distracted in their job helping people who are deaf or have mobility problems.

Support Dogs president and CEO Anne Klein says D-O-G is “fearless” around the larger canines and plays with their tails, sleeps in their beds and eats and drinks from their bowls instead of his own.

The dogs go through a two-year training program before they’re given to clients for free.