The plane crash that occurred just last week in DC was a terrible, unexpected tragedy. At this point, the remains of all of the victims have been found, which means that their families are being called in. It’s a terribly hard thing to deal with for everyone involved.
While nothing can bring back the lives that were lost, a few Golden Retrievers teamed up to at least try to comfort the families of the victims. On Wednesday, February 5th, their parents shared details of their trip to DC to try and comfort these grieving families. Get your tissues ready:
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Ellie and Emma are the sweetest girls in the world, and it must be so good to know that they were of some help in such a difficult time.
There have been many people coming and going in the wake of the DC plane crash, and the situation has been stressful for everyone, from family members to friends and colleagues of people working the flight. Immediately upon hearing about the tragedy, Katie (the dogs’ mom) took Ellie down to try and help.
Though it took some time to find where they needed her most, Ellie was put to work immediately, comforting a woman who was having a panic attack. She moved on to comfort others, too; flight attendants, spouses, and even people who were getting on other flights who were now a little scared all benefited from Ellie’s presence – so much so that, hours after Ellie first arrived, Katie decided to bring her sister, Emma, too.
The two of them tackled comforting people together: they sat beside them, let them pet them, and absorbed some tears with their fur. These girls are simply experts: they knew exactly what people needed and they gave it to them without a second thought.
How your therapy dogs can help
If you have therapy dogs and you live in the area, you can help, too; you’d be best off contacting a local therapy dog organization and volunteering through them. Ellie was turned away at a few locations, and organizations with connections can make finding the right one easier. Additionally, many places will ask to see a therapy certification before they let dogs interact with people in need.
If you have a fully-vaccinated, mild-mannered, kind dog who either has therapy experience or would be a good fit, you can start by contacting organizations. There are several therapy dog organizations in the DC area you can contact, including:
If you don’t have therapy dogs but would still like to contribute to the cause, many of these organizations accept cash donations, or you could call and ask if there’s anything they might need in terms of supplies.
