[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 168 (Thursday, December 27, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S8449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THANKING LUTHERAN CHURCH CHARITIES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this past week we have all watched, grief-
stricken, the terrible school shooting in Newtown, CT, and the heart-
breaking funerals of those beautiful little children. There are no 
words to adequately express our sorrow for those touched by this 
tragedy. But there is an organization that is helping to bring comfort 
and healing to Newtown in a way that requires no words.
  One day after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a group 
of golden retrievers from the Chicago area made a cross-country journey 
to provide solace to the Newtown community. The Lutheran Church 
Charities sent five of their ``comfort dogs'' to help console grieving 
family members and others touched by the Sandy Hook Elementary School 
shooting. Accompanying these special dogs are handlers who are trained 
to speak or pray with mourners or simply to sit quietly with them.
  In all, nine comfort dogs from Lutheran Church Charities have helped 
to comfort Newtown residents. Some of these remarkable dogs attended 
President Obama's speech at an interfaith gathering at Newtown High 
School, another comforted mourners at Newtown's Christ the King 
Lutheran Church, the location of funerals for two of the slain 
children. The dogs even made an appearance on CNN with host Don Lemon.
  This is how Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, 
explained the dogs' healing powers: ``Dogs are nonjudgmental,'' he 
says, ``They are loving. They are accepting of anyone. It creates the 
atmosphere for people to share.''
  That is exactly what they have done in Newtown.
  A woman visiting a Newtown memorial told one reporter: ``It's a very 
solemn time. With the dogs here, it seems like it's a little ray of 
sunshine.''
  A child from Newtown said simply that the dogs ``help you get over 
how sad it is.''
  Sadly, the comfort dog program began after another gun tragedy. In 
2008, after a gunman killed five students at Northern Illinois 
University, a group of dog caretakers associated with Lutheran Church 
Charities visited the NIU campus in hopes of offering a healing 
distraction to students. The trip was so successful that a few weeks 
later students petitioned university leaders to bring the comfort dogs 
back.
  The initiative has since grown from a handful of dogs in the Chicago 
area to 60 dogs in 6 states. Comfort dogs have traveled across the 
Nation to console people in the aftermath of major tragedies such as 
Hurricane Sandy and the tornado that hit Joplin, MO.
  When the K-9 comfort dogs are not responding to a tragedy, they visit 
people in hospitals, nursing homes, and parks. Each dog has a Facebook 
page, Twitter account, and email so those who meet the dogs can keep in 
touch.
  The unconditional love of comfort dogs has helped countless children 
and adults to cope with tragedy and begin to heal from their suffering. 
On behalf of a heartbroken but grateful Nation, I want to express my 
heartfelt thanks to all of the comfort dogs of Lutheran Church 
Charities especially Abbi, Barnabas, Chewie, Chloe, Hannah, Luther, 
Prince, Ruthie, and Shami--and to their handlers.
  I yield the floor.

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