Dogs bring comfort to Connecticut
K-9 team travels to Newtown.
A team of 10 golden retrievers who are trained to provide comfort to those in need, traveled with their handlers from the Chicago area this weekend to Newtown, Conn., where a gunman tragically killed 20 children and six adults on Friday.
The dogs are bred and trained by Lutheran Church Charities. They’re placed in schools and churches and visit hospitals and nursing homes — and are often deployed to disaster scenes.
“Dogs are nonjudgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone,” said Tim Hetzner, the organization’s president. “It creates the atmosphere for people to share.”
CNN’s Don Lemon interviewed Hetzner on Sunday night at a makeshift memorial in Newtown.
“I haven’t really seen anyone smiling out here and these dogs showed up and the kids started smiling,” Lemon said.
— Read it at AP via the Boston Herald
Bing: How to help the community of Newtown.
Photo: CNN via YouTube // Comfort dogs visit children in Newtown, Conn.
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