Comfort Dogs

     This story is so compelling it couldn't wait. Please read about one of the most beautiful concepts I have ever heard of: comfort dogs.  These dogs are managed by the Lutheran Church Charities, based in Addison, Illinois. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Lutheran.  According to their website, "LCC works throughout the United States and Internationally in bringing the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those Suffering and in Need. . . We operate with a Dollar In – Dollar Out funding process where EVERY dollar given for a cause goes directly to that cause or need, with LCC acknowledging the gift and overseeing that the money is used as intended."

     These dogs have been in the spotlight due to their work in Newtown, Connecticut.  This article features that story, along with links to various research studies supporting the use of dogs to both sense the need for comfort and combat feelings of loneliness in people, but that's something those of us on the Rescue Dog Blog already knew, right?  

     Time and again we get as much or more out of our relationships with our dogs as they get from us. This reciprocity is represented beautifully in this sentiment:

“Perhaps one central reason for loving dogs is that they take us away from this obsession with ourselves. When our thoughts start to go in circles, and we seem unable to break away, wondering what horrible event the future holds for us, the dog opens a window into the delight of the moment.”

― Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

You can find out more about the comfort dogs by clicking here and/or by liking them on Facebook.