A team of 8 Golden Retrievers has traveled 800 miles from Chicago to Newtown to comfort survivors of the mass shooting. The dogs’ first stop Sunday in Newtown was Christ the King Lutheran Church, where funerals will be held this week for two children who were killed in the shootings, Hetzner said.

“You could tell which ones ...were really struggling with their grief because they were quiet,” Hetzner said. “They would pet the dog, and they would just be quiet.”

The comfort-dog initiative first started in 2008 at Northern Illinois University after a gunman killed five students. A group of dog caretakers associated with Lutheran Church Charities went to the campus to provide a distraction to the student community.

The trip was so successful that weeks later students petitioned university leadership to bring comfort dogs back to campus, Hetzner said.

The initiative has grown from a handful of dogs in the Chicago area to 60 dogs in six different states, he said.



Chicago Tribune

Dogs arrive in Newtown to comfort survivors | Boston Herald

That is so neat....thank you for sharing. I saw on the news that one local man had his dog giving out free "hugs" to people needing a little cheer during this horrible time.

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--Briana--

Thanks for sharing this article.

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Dave

That's awesome. Thanks.

These are the real comfort retrievers...bless them.

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On CNN , so proud to be a golden owner after seeing that


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This actually brought tears! What better breed to comfort these people. My Murphy would have been so good at that
If Bentley ever settles down as an adult maybe I'll look into this. God bless them!!

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on CNN not best shot but so happy to have seen them there


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It surprises none of us, and makes instant sense to all of us, that Golden Retrievers should be the ones offering comfort to the grief-stricken and the lost. It is the work of angels.

I had wanted to say something about "we should send in some dogs," but didn't want to seem..I don't know...? At any rate, I'm really glad they are there, and I really hope many of these families have dogs and cats at home to pet and care for in the coming weeks. When it doesn't seem like life is worth living, the love of an animal can get people up and moving. Bless all the people who are hurting.

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.