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Comfort Dogs Provide Support To Community After Apalachee High School Shooting

A team of comfort dogs headed to the Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia to provide support after the mass shooting that happened on Wednesday, September 04.

The person who is responsible for the mass shooting, 14-year-old Colt Gray, took the lives of 2 students and 2 teachers and have left 9 other individuals hospitalized. CNN reports that Gray is charged as an adult with murder.

In the wake of the heartbreaking event, the Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Comfort Dogs announced on September 05 that it will be sending nine comfort dog teams from six different states across the southeast to Barrow County.

The comfort dogs, together with their handlers, were deployed to Barrow County for a week, from September 07 to September 14. They have provided much needed comfort to families, survivors, and the first responders who serve them.

Comfort dog at the Apalachee High School
Credit: Zoara Comfort Dog / Facebook

The team of good boys and girls, all Golden Retrievers, include:

  1. Peace from Orlando, Florida
  2. Moriah from Oviedo, Florida
  3. Phinehas from Fremont, Nebraska
  4. Job from Memphis, Tennessee
  5. Jemimah from Boca Raton, Florida
  6. Faith from Hickory, North Carolina
  7. Hope from Marietta, Georgia
  8. Seth from Seneca, South Carolina
  9. Zoara from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

After arriving in Barrow County, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs shared photos of some of their comfort dogs, wearing vests that said “Please Pet Me”.

They also wrote, “Our hearts ache for the students, families, and staff affected by this heartbreaking loss. We are here to offer comfort, a listening ear, and a gentle presence in this time of deep sorrow.”

For a week, the comfort dogs have been working tirelessly, providing all the support the community needed.

The dogs have attended vigils, visited students from Apalachee High School and other Barrow County schools, and have also met with first responders at the Barrow County Fire Department.

Paul Soost, the lead volunteer for the Winder deployment of the K-9 Comfort Dogs, told WSB Radio, “Every one of the schools that we’ve gone into … the teachers have commented, with the kids, it has really helped them come back to school.”

“We can see the calming effect that the dogs have on people as we come in,” Soost added. “Sometimes people are more comfortable connecting with a dog than they are a person.”

 President and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities, Rev. Chris Singer, tells WGAU Radio, “We would love to make all of this just go away. And obviously we can’t. The next best thing that we believe we can do is be here.”

“Be here with this community and to try and help provide some comfort, some support, and awareness that this community is not alone,” he adds.

After wrapping up their week at Barrow County, the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs posted on Facebook saying, “Thank you for welcoming us into your community. Our prayers remain with you all, and may the peace of God continue to surround you in the days ahead.”

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The US Olympic Gymnastics Therapy Dog, Beacon, Hospitalized With Stiffness, Labored Breathing, And Fever

Beacon, the therapy dog who provides emotional support to the US Olympic Gymnastics team, has been hospitalized on Tuesday, September 03.

The news was announced by the Golden Retriever’s owner and handler, Tracey Callahan Molnar, on the pooch’s Instagram page.

“Beacon was admitted yesterday to an emergency pet hospital after some symptoms he was having (stiffness, moving into labored breathing, and then fever) were not reacting to treatments (anti-inflammatory meds, cold laser therapy),” Callahan Molnar wrote.

Callahan Molnar also said that x-rays showed that Beacon has fluid in his chest cavity, which was part of the reason for the dog’s labored breathing.

However, the vet’s cause of concern was Beacon’s high fever. And that’s when the pooch was transported to an emergency pet hospital.

The therapy dog’s owner and handler reveals, “some diagnostics have been done but more to go. my understanding is that there are many potential causes therefore, many things to rule out.”

Furthermore, Callahan Molnar revealed, “he has needed to have fluid removed from his chest cavity multiple times and during a procedure yesterday to take tissue samples from some concerning lung tissue”.

“This is an incredibly difficult post to make,” Callahan Molnar said. “I’ve decided to share this now because beacon has 50k + followers and i know that can mean 50k + people sending him wishes for healing and good health.”

Among Callahan Molnar’s “biggest requests” is for people to send the four-year-old therapy dog good wishes, whether it be thoughts, prayers, virtual hugs, or in whatever form it comes.

Callahan Molnar promised Beacon’s followers to keep them posted and said, “We know that beacon provides animal assisted therapy but i hope you know that he loves people so much that the in-person interactions he had with so many of you are also meaningful to him.”

The USA Gymnastics posted about the news on their social media pages and wrote, “We’re wishing Good Boy Beacon a speedy recovery!”

Beacon is the USA Gymnastics’ first ever therapy dog. He provided much needed comfort and emotional support during the recent Olympics trial that ran from June 27 to 30.

Everyone loved him – from the athletes to the judges, Beacon was hard at work last June. You could even say that he stole the show and became a fan-favorite.

In an interview with ESPN, Callahan Molnar talked about Beacon saying, “He will turn on a dime without seeing who it is. He picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately.“

You can help Beacon towards his road to recovery by donating here.