Purebreds Bring ‘Comfort’ to Orlando Shooting Victims

By Amy Fernandez

It’s weird how the simplest old-fashioned remedies never seem to fail. Chicken soup really does help cure a cold, and chocolate actually does ease heartache. Scientific backup also confirms the therapeutic effect of physical contact with dogs. It measurably reduces stress and anxiety, and floods the brain with feel-good hormones.

Nowhere in the world has that been more necessary right now than Orlando, Florida. The day after the worst mass shooting in American history, a dozen Golden Retrievers arrived on the scene to comfort survivors and grief-stricken families.

Comfort dogs, better known as emotional support dogs, are a relatively new feature of the Therapy Dog movement. They’ve frequently made news in recent years for their expanding role in helping combat veterans recover from PTSD. In conjunction with that, they’ve also touched off controversy about their legitimacy as therapy dogs as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act, but that’s another story.

The group that touched down in Orlando on Monday, K-9 Comfort Dogs, was founded by Lutheran Church Charities based in Illinois. Starting with four dogs back in 2008, the group now has over 100 Golden Retriever volunteers in 23 states, each of which has completed the group’s 14-month certification program. In recent years, their Comfort Dog teams have been dispatched to the scene after the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, last year’s Oregon shooting, as well as numerous natural disasters around the country. All travel costs are covered by charitable donations.

The teams sent to Orlando arrived from Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. In addition to visiting hospitalized shooting victims and shaken first responders, the dogs and their handlers have been a conspicuous presence at vigils, memorial services, and basically anywhere that traumatized survivors can benefit from a little canine loving.

The dogs don’t really do much besides making themselves available for petting, hugging, and lending an understanding ear for those who aren’t ready to share their distress with the human race. Unconditional love isn’t anything new, but it works every time.

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Posted by admin on Jun 17 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.