The Newtown, Conn., tragedy has put some specially trained dogs on the case. Five golden retrievers and eight handlers worked to comfort children and adults affected by the school shooting tragedy.

They have been on the case in the community by giving comfort to children and adults with physical affection in the form of cuddles, licks and nuzzles after making their working journey to Connecticut.

Some of the children comforted by the dogs give their first smiles since the shooting. The dogs bring back a sense of peace that many people could not feel since the tragedy.
They are helping some of the burden of grief drop off a bit.

The comfort dogs are trained not to bark and to be canine good citizens. They help to relieve the pain in a way that only dogs can. Dogs have the amazing ability to zero in on the person in front of them that has the greatest need. They can have six or seven people sitting there, yet they go to the one who has the greatest loss. The dogs just know.

While it is the children who have benefitted the most from canine comfort, adults are also quietly availing themselves to the service of the comfort dogs.

To learn more about the Lutheran Church Charities’s K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs program, click here.

Photo: Courtesy of K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs