Two suburban Chicago comfort dogs are headed to Dallas, Texas to bring their love to police officers and the surrounding community reeling from tragedy.
Lutheran Church Charities of Northbrook was invited by the City of Dallas to bring their comfort dogs, Luther and Ruthie, in light of the ambush attack on police that left five Dallas officers dead last week.
Luther and Ruthie, both Golden Retrievers, also made a visit to Orlando following last month's deadly mass shooting.
"They have a sixth sense of when someone is hurting,” Tim Hetzner President of LCC said.
Luther and Ruthie will be joined by four other LCC comfort dogs from Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Chicago police officer Brigid Cronin said police departments all over the nation are hurting after the Dallas attack.
"It's a very sad time for law enforcement," Cronin said. "It's a very sensitive issue, but I know these dogs are going to do a great thing keeping them calm.”
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The companionship of comfort dogs bring a variety of positive benefits to victims of trauma. Simply petting the animals lowers a person’s blood pressure, according to Hetzner.
“It gives them a chance to talk about what they're feeling, what they're going through, the loss that they had, the fears that they have,” Hetzner said.
Luther and Ruthie will stay in Dallas through Thursday.
"It's a very sad time for law enforcement," Cronin said.
