Dogs are creatures of comfort for all the family
IN early October, as the citizens of Las Vegas digested the aftermath of their country’s largest mass shooting, a story about nine rescue dogs made its way through the carnage. The K-9 Comfort Dog Ministries have developed something of a celebrity status in recent years turning up to offer succour to survivors of tragedies such as the Sandy Hook shooting, the Pulse nightclub massacre and Hurricane Harvey. While some might scoff at the idea of drafting dogs in to support victims of a mass shooting, comfort or therapy dogs are considered by those working in the field the best therapists around.
“The whole atmosphere in a room changes when a volunteer walks in with a dog,” says Brenda D Rickard, CEO of Irish Therapy Dogs. “And it’s the dog that does it. If you think about it, dogs are probably the best therapists in the world because people feel they can be themselves. A dog doesn’t judge you and just rubbing a dog or looking at one relaxes people. Problems don’t go away but people forget them for a while.”
