SALUDA, N.C. — With her uniform on, a little Golden Retriever puppy waddled her way into the Huntersville Fire Department to do a little field training.
Her name is Hope, and she’s being taught to provide support to the firefighters at the Saluda Fire Department. They lost two of their own while responding to the mountains during Hurricane Helene, and Hope is part of a larger effort to get a therapy dog into every department that lost a first responder in the storm.
Hope is the first therapy dog acquired by the K-9 Responder Foundation, a brand new non-profit dedicated to getting trained therapy dogs to first responders without the financial burden.
“We can come up with this foundation as a way to generate funds, remove those financial barriers, and get people the support that they need to live their best life,” said Rick Dunton, president of the K-9 Responder Foundation.
Longtime Saluda Fire Chief George Satcher and 18-year-old Landon Bodie both lost their lives while responding to Hurricane Helene.
“Her job is to take care of her first responders in her area. She is going to be a county-wide resource for the folks in Saluda,” Dunton said.
Many of Hope’s days will be surrounded by love, support, and smiles in the Saluda community.
“There’s just so much trauma within working in the fire service and first responders in general,” said Nicole Burg, a behavioral health specialist with the K-9 Responder Foundation.
Burg is on the board of the foundation. She’s also a behavioral health specialist for the Charlotte Fire Department, where she uses another therapy dog, Asher, to help firefighters cope.
“You’ll see the dog walk over to them and just sit down in front of them, and then all of a sudden, you can just see the muscles relax, like they’re not tensed anymore,” Burg said. “I’m really excited for the opportunities of smaller departments being able to have them.”
Dunton says they have the faith, the passion, and certainly the hope for this project. They just need the community’s help to keep it going.
“We’re going to do amazing things, and we just invite you to be a part of that,” Dunton said.
“We’ve had people that have service dogs tell us that they’re still alive today because of their dog. They’re still here today. They’re still a father today, and that is so powerful. You know, I get a little, get a little worked up just thinking about it. To be able to do that on a wider scale for our first responders, is very exciting.”
>>You can learn how to support their efforts by clicking this link.
(VIDEO: Therapy dog brings joy to medical center patients, staff)
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