Comfort dogs are helping people with the trauma of the Las Vegas shooting
Grief and trauma are incredibly complex emotions. People who are the victims of attacks such as the one in Las Vegas often need a lot of support to process these emotions. Enter the golden retrievers.
The LCC-K9 comfort dogs, which are backed by the Lutheran Church Charities, announced they were on their way to Las Vegas the day following the attack, and they arrived in all their furry, comforting glory.
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There were deployed to help victims of the Las Vegas shooting in a therapeutic capacity. The lovable mutts have been visiting survivors such as the ones in Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
They also attended a candlelight vigil for those killed in the attack.
Supplying a bunch of cuddly dogs to the victims of trauma may seem tokenistic at first glance, but the benefits of comfort animals after traumatic events is well documented and has a clear logic to it. Tim Hetzner, founder of the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministries told ABC news, "the great thing about the dogs, they're unconditional, confidential and safe."
He also told ABC that the dogs themselves are sensitive to people's emotional needs. "Dogs have an incredible sense of when somebody is hurting," he said, "they'll just come and lay themselves into somebody's lap."
These expectation-free and compassionate interactions can make a real difference in people's emotional recovery, and we hope the helpful doggos get to spread as much comfort as possible before going home.
Topics Activism Animals Social Good
