‘Comfort dogs' help victims cope after Orlando shooting
Sometimes, all you need is a four-legged furry friend to cuddle with to help deal with emotionally tough times.
That’s the reason a group of specially-trained comfort dogs from across the U.S. were dispatched to Orlando to help provide emotional support (and maybe some wet doggie kisses) to those affected by Sunday’s gay nightclub mass shooting.
About a dozen K-9 comfort dogs from Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois traveled to Orlando Monday morning.
One dog from Fort Worth will also be headed to Orlando to help with the effort.
The trained service animals are part of Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry, a Christian organization that uses Golden Retrievers trained to interact with people during times of disaster and traumatic situations.
In recent years, the dogs have been dispatched to Oregon after the Umpqua Community College shooting, after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and Boston following the marathon bombing.
The organization doesn’t charge the people affected by the disaster. Instead, they rely on donations to cover the expenses.