Pittsfield Police Department Welcome Winston the Comfort Dog

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- There is a new officer in the city who is fuzzy and loves to be pet.

The Police Department has recently added a comfort dog unit, employing "Officer Winston" the poodle to provide ease in post-traumatic incidents.

Winston works alongside Officer Darren Derby, who is a patrolman, the department safety officer, and known for his work in community outreach. With the new addition, the department hopes to bridge the gap between the public and their uniforms.

"There are a lot of times that people can't or won't talk to the police and he's just another tool," Derby said about the new four-legged officer. "Another tool for us to be able to have that somewhat safe feeling for people when they're talking to the police and animals, but dogs in general, have that ability."

Winston's main objective is assisting in traumatic situations. This can include domestic violence, sexual assault, mental illness crises, or anything involving children.

He is assigned to Derby as part of his community outreach and safety position.

Derby explained that comfort dogs are also commonly used as support when a victim is giving testimony to the police.

On top of that, he said Winston already has done a lot for the department in terms of providing relief.  He has freedom within the facility and is able to visit staff members at his leisure.

iBerkshires was warmly and politely greeted by Winston upon entering the employee portion of the police station.

The pooch is currently about 18 weeks old and will reach anywhere from 40 to 60 pounds as a standard-sized poodle. He was named in honor of Lt. Michael Winston, a longtime Pittsfield Police officer who passed away in 2018.

"We thought it would be an awesome tribute to the lieutenant," Derby said. "And it was fitting"

Winston arrived in mid-September after being donated by Berkshire Poodles, a local breeder who has made a commitment to provide dogs to first responders.

The City Council officially accepted the donation at its Sept. 14 meeting. Derby explained that there was a lot involved in the making of it.

"It's not just your typical adding a canine to the canine unit that's already established, you have nothing to go from," he added.

The department had to decide several factors such as what breed of dog it would get and where it will come from. Derby said it was important for him to have a hypoallergenic pup so that he can assist even people with allergies.

It was after the sudden passing of Great Barrington's comfort dog Officer Beko - who was the only police comfort dog in the county -- that the decision was made to move forward with the new unit.

Derby began discussing the process with Chief Michael Wynn and at the same time, Berkshire Poodles reached out and offered the donation of Winston, who was hand-picked for the job because of his calm demeanor.

Pittsfield Man Creates Device to Clear Lakes of Algae Blooms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

Marc Bellora holds a jar of lake water, left, to compare to water cleaned by his Aqua Clarifier Water System.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marc Bellora has high hopes for a device he's created to treat lakes from harmful algae blooms.

His patented water clarifier can physically remove captured material rather than letting the nutrient-rich material settle back into the lake, which occurs when herbicides are used.

"It's a long-term lake management tool that can be used to reduce legacy nutrients in lakes and ponds over time," he explained. "We built the prototype, this is a prototype. It does approximately 65 to 70 gallons per minute. It's very environmentally friendly. Can be used with air only, or we can use a low-dose potable polyaluminum chloride (PACL) or chemical on board that can help improve results."

The water clarifier barge is based on well-proven technology for water treatment, he said. "It's a self-contained, portable, mobile unit that removes algae blooms, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the associated nitrogen and phosphorus within lakes."

Bellora founded Clear Waterways Group with business partner Mark Simon. They built a prototype mobile unit and are still working out the kinks. It's taken Bellora about five years to bring the project to fruition as he is also a full-time Realtor.

He says the repurposed barge they use has a device that uses air to filter the water to separate harmful bacteria or uses a chemical at low doses. They are testing both to see how well each does at cleaning the water.

"They would do the same thing here, except they would spray it, and it blocks all that stuff together," Bellora said of the use of herbicides. "But then it drops to the bottom. So now all the nutrients that are attached in that plot go to the bottom and contribute to the legacy nutrients only to fuel next year's bloom. Ours removes it."

He said just using air alone has removed 70 to 90 percent of harmful algae where he has been operating on the south end of Pontoosuc Lake.

"Essentially, we take in the bad stuff, we take in the lake water. We separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. Clean water goes back into the lake, and the bad stuff can either be composted, or it can be taken to the wastewater treatment plant, which is what we're doing here," he said. 

Bellora explained that tiny air bubbles attach to particles in the water, making them buoyant so they rise and can be removed. The unit can operate with air alone, or with a low dose of potable polyaluminum chloride.

PACL helps through flocculation: it gathers small particles into larger clumps that are easier for air bubbles to capture. He said this can help remove dissolved nutrients that air alone may not capture as effectively. 

Bellora said he was inspired to build something like this after noticing the lakes he enjoys being shut down because of algae blooms. 

The city issued a health advisory for Pontoosuc in August, warning residents not to swim or come in contact with the lake water because of an algae bloom. The cyanobacteria can cause skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea and nerve or liver problems. 

Bellora previously worked for a company that used traditional dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to treat water. In that role, he traveled around the country to work at paper mills and food-processing plants.

That experience gave him a practical understanding of DAF, and while flying between jobs, he would see green ponds and wonder whether the technology could be adapted to treat lakes.