When Shannon Horn goes to work, she takes a lot of her personal life with her.
Horn's a dispatcher for the Utah County sheriff's department. Her husband, Jens Horn, is a patrol sergeant for Utah County. They have four children.There are six other couples, like Shannon and Jens Horn, working at the sheriff's office.
"I really don't think of my situation much. You're so in tune to all the officers out here," said Shannon Horn, a dispatcher of 10 years.
She recently was named dispatcher of the year for Utah County.
In January 1980, she dispatched her husband to the scene of a semi-truck rollover on I-15. As the officers directed traffic, a motorist lost control of a vehicle and struck Shannon's husband and two other officers.
"They radioed and said three officers were down. At the time, I thought Jens was OK. Then when I heard it was him, it really got me thinking," Shannon remembered.
However, she handled it well.
"Shannon is an excellent dispatcher. She stays calm and deals with emergencies really well," said Cindy Mason, Shannon's superviser.
After making sure everyone else got medical attention, Horn went to the hospital to be with her husband.
"When I got there, he was mainly just cut and bruised. He actually looked like he had been in a fight," she joked. "He said he was just worried about how I was handling it."
Mason - whose husband, Leonard, is a deputy sheriff - agrees the job can be tough at times.
"It's an emotionally draining job. You have to deal with keeping people calm and with human emotions," Cindy Mason said. "When children are involved, sometimes your emotions get the best of you."
Shannon Horn understands that all too well.
"In March 1991, I received a 911 call. On the screen, I saw my address and phone number," she said. However, she wasn't alarmed because people regularly come to her house for help when they see a patrol car in the driveway.
"The man on the phone, my (LDS Church) home teacher, said that my baby was unconscious and wasn't breathing," recalled Horn, her voice cracking with emotion.
Her 10-month-old son, Timothy, had fallen and suffered a severe blow to his head.
"It was a freak accident. And for me to answer the call, it was even worse," she said. "It was awful, just like a sinking feeling inside."
Her baby has since recovered - and so has she.
"I have taken two or three calls of babies not breathing and have been fine. You just have to deal with it," she said.
Throughout it all, Horn still loves her job and hopes to continue it for many years.
"Law enforcement is a funny thing. Once it gets into your blood, you just can't leave it alone."