I have posted before about the organization I'm involved in called PAWS Assistance Dogs in Naples.

We got a request from the state's Attorney General's office to bring our dogs to Parkland to offer crisis care to students, parents, teachers and first responders. We sent 6 teams with trained handlers and dogs. They arrived two days after the shooting and will be there at least a couple of weeks. They are working side by side with the FBIs own K9s, escorting kids to and from counseling sessions, offering comfort and lifting spirits.

It sounds simple, but it takes special training to do this kind of work, both for the handlers and the dogs.

It is not directly part of our mission of training service dogs for veterans, but we do a lot of this type of work because it is fantastic training for the dogs. They get valuable real-world experience that we can't simulate in their in-house training. It will make them better service dogs.

I am very proud of our team and just wanted to share.

Thanks to you and your staff for helping out!

Thats great.

There's often no better cure for what ails a sad heart than a sweet dog.

Thank you very much.

Agree with the others, nothing helps healing like having a pup to love on.

This brought so much joy to me...Thank you for sharing.

Awesome work! Glad y’all are there.

That's really good to hear that you're involved with the situation in a positive way.
I wonder if the dogs can pick up on the differences in this situation.

Keep up the good work, ChicagoSigMan.

Yes, great job. Also, great that the AG or someone in their office recognized you guys could help.

Good Dog(s)

This is so great to hear. Thanks to your teams and you.

We had been staying pretty low profile about our participation due to privacy concerns for the students and the sensitive nature of the situation, but the press has finally found the story.

Here is an article form our hometown paper about what we are doing in Parkland (there are a few pictures at the link to the article below).

PARKLAND – A group of happy-looking golden retrievers lay in the grass and on patterned blankets under the shade of palm trees Monday afternoon at Pine Trails Park.

The dogs were representatives of the crisis team of PAWS Assistance Dogs of Naples, an organization in Southwest Florida that trains and gifts service dogs to combat-wounded veterans, children with life-altering disabilities and first responders.

The golden retrievers sat patiently alongside volunteer handlers near the entrance of Pine Trails Park, providing comfort to those who visited memorials for the 17 victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 in Parkland.

A team of PAWS dogs arrived in Parkland on Feb. 17, just three days after the school shooting that claimed 17 lives, both students and teachers.

Jeannie Bates, founder and executive director of PAWS, asked lead trainer Sally O’Neill if the Naples organization could help those impacted by the tragedy.

“She called me up one night and said, ‘They need us. Can we do it?’” O’Neill said. “And I said, ‘Yes we can.’”

Five crisis team dogs from PAWS are in Parkland this week, along with O’Neill and a team of volunteers from the Naples area.

Since arriving in Parkland, O’Neill said the PAWS dogs have been available for petting and hugs for members of the South Florida community outside memorials, at events at Pine Trails Park and to students and staff as they prepare to return to school at Stoneman Douglas this week.

“I am so in awe of these dogs,” O’Neill said. “They cross boundaries that humans can’t cross and they do it without words.”

PAWS dogs were at Stoneman Douglas High Sunday as parents and students returned to the school for orientation. The golden retrievers also greeted staff Monday for the first planning day in preparation for classes to resume on Wednesday.

"The dogs are an absolutely fantastic idea. It changed the entire atmosphere for the kids in the school (Sunday) and created a focal point for kids to come together," said Robert Calamia, 47, who has a 15-year-old daughter that attends Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

The dogs have brought a sense of calm to the community, O'Neill said, and she can see that when the golden retrievers interact with people.

“If you watch someone as they’re approaching, you can see the pure sadness and angst,” she said. “Then they see the dog and their smile starts to creep out and when their hands touch that dog, you see their whole body almost collapse.”

Deb Maguire, of Naples, also said it has been encouraging to see how people respond to the PAWS dogs.

“It’s profound,” she said. “Their whole demeanor changes when they put their hands in the fur, bury themselves and the dog will lean up against them.”

“It’s truly a privilege just to be holding the other end of the leash,” Maguire said.

The five PAWS dogs in Parkland this week range from 17-months to five years old, O’Neill said.

There’s Mickey, the youngest at 17 months, who is named after baseball legend Mickey Mantle.

“He’s got a very gentle soul,” said Mike McCabe, a Naples resident, who is working with Mickey while PAWS is in Parkland.

Mickey is an intuitive dog, O’Neill said. He has his own move, like a hug, that he uses to comfort people.

“He just knows when to go in for that golden hug,” O’Neill said. “He knows when to lean in and if a child is really hard to reach, he’ll start rolling around and doing headstands. He’s just amazing.”

Luigi is slightly older at 19 months old. He’s a “pretty boy,” O’Neill said and can be both playful and serious about his work.

Jewel, age three, is a “cuddler” and a “little petite princess,” while Rocky, soon to be four years old, is “Mr. Happy,” O’Neill said.

The last PAWS dog in Parkland is Woody, age five.

“Woody is more like the sophisticated elder of the group,” O’Neill said. “He’s just calm, cool and collected all the time.”

While all five dogs will be in Parkland until Thursday, Woody and Luigi will be at Marjory Stoneman Douglas through the end of the school week.

Woody will be in the school’s library while Luigi will be in the classroom of a teacher that lost students in the attack on Feb. 14, O’Neill said.

The shooting at Stoneman Douglas is the largest crisis situation the PAWS team has assisted, O’Neill said, but she’s seen dogs bring smiles to students and relief to stressed out parents, just by being there for pets and cuddles.

“I think that it gives them hope that they would feel better some day, that this is temporary,” she said. “It has permanent ramifications, but that it’s a temporary state that they’re in. If they fight, they can move forward. Just petting a dog helps.”

Link

Very nice to read.

It's people like you that make the country worth living in.

Are these guys part of your team? Really great what you all are doing.