HOPE AACR teams have been called out to support those affected by the Burlington, WA shooting.
Certified HOPE dogs Chester, Bungee and Areya are featured in this King 5 News video bringing some smiles.

AKC Family Dog magazine featured the working dogs of 9/11 in an article this month, to include HOPE dogs.

Soothing Souls
The notion that dogs have the power to ease human emotional suffering is not new. Anyone who’s cried in the presence of a canine companion knows that. Smoky, a 4-pound Yorkshire Terrier, is credited with being the first therapy dog, cheering wounded soldiers in hospitals on the islands around New Guinea during World War II.
Dog trainer Cindy Ehlers first recognized the power of therapy dogs after the May 21, 1998, Thurston High School shooting, in Springfield, Oregon. She accompanied one of the first therapy dogs to work with the Red Cross in a disaster and one of the first to be certified for crisis-response.  After that experience, Ehlers got a puppy, Tikva, a Keeshond, and trained her for crisis-response work. She also started an organization that is today the HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, in Eugene, Oregon.

On 9/11, Ehlers and Tikva traveled to New York. Dealing with such enormous waves of grief, fear, and confusion goes
way beyond what is required of a therapy dog who visits hospitals and nursing homes. Ehlers says she saw some become too stressed to work.

(click here for full article by Mara Bovson)

HOPE received a wonderful Thank You letter from the Orange County Sheriff’s office for their support for the people of Orlando.  While we volunteer to bring comfort and smiles, these notes do so much to bolster all hard working volunteers!

You know immediately when they arrive because the whole room gravitates toward their wake.

“Did you see the Hope Dogs?” someone asks me.

“What are Hope Dogs?” I ask heading toward a growing crowd in a corner. Oscar and Pickles are therapy dogs who work for the non-profit organization Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (Hope AACR). They are part of an elite team that not only has animal-assisted therapy certification and experience but are also screened for suitability in a crisis response environment. Teams receive extensive training in Incident Command System (a standardized way we organize crisis response), first aid/CPR, emotional first aid, crisis communication, and special stress management techniques for work in the field along side first responders.

This is part of a series about the largest disaster exercise conducted in Washington State history called Cascadia Rising, 2016. See the other blogs here.

BY JOHANNA N. HANSON

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) –
As the Orlando community tries to heal after the massacre nearly two weeks ago, some support is coming their way in an unexpected form from Tennessee.

Crisis response canines are specially trained dogs that have the skills to interact with strangers at the worst times of their lives. There’s a new volunteer team in Middle Tennessee ready to comfort in emergencies as severe as Orlando.

Kinsey and Alexis work with their handlers as part of a volunteer team with HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, and they are the first team in Middle Tennessee.

(for full story, click here)

Reported by Briona Arradondo

Just like with FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue dogs, comfort dogs can be a variety of breeds. The individual dog and its temperament is what really matters. You see lots of Labs and golden retrievers, but HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response has a whole spectrum of dogs: from Newfoundlands to Shihtzus and from mixed breeds to show dogs.

Teams spring into action after both manmade and natural disasters and FEMA works through HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response to activate them. HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response is a member of the National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster, a network of over 50 organizations committed to supporting individuals and communities impacted by disaster events. Their dogs helped us respond to the Oso mudslide in Washington state in 2014 as well as last fall’s historic flooding across South Carolina.

(see full article by Jessica Stapf here)

If there is a terrorist attack or other tragedy in North America, Katie-Lynn may be one of the dogs called in to help with the healing process.

Golden Retriever Katie-Lynn is one of about 300 dogs that are part of the HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR), an organization that provides “comfort dog support to individuals affected by crises and disasters.”

Full story by: Jeff Klassen

At the end of October, representatives from many of the voluntary agencies and non-profit organizations we work with came together for the first event of this kind in Washington, DC. The event was designed to build, solidify, and highlight many of the connections that make disaster response and recovery successful.

Beth Zimmerman kicked off the day with opening remarks. She is FEMA’s Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery and her comments highlighted the work of our voluntary, faith-based, and community partners, particularly in disasters that aren’t severe enough to require FEMA’s assistance: “Each and every person and organization… comes together to help these communities on a daily basis.”

Throughout the day, organizations shared stories about how they work together to help communities across the country, and sometimes even the world. Ideas were shared, business cards swapped, and partnerships that are forged under pressure during disasters had a chance to bloom on a “blue sky day.” (In emergency management terms, we call this “steady state.”)

(click here for full story)

Federal Emergency Management Agency interviewed HOPE teams serving at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Sumter County Civic Center in South Carolina.  (click here)

In the wake of this tragedy (the death of a high school football player), LaSalle High School wanted to do whatever they could for students.

With today being the first day back after the tragic news of Mitchell Snyder’s death, the high school brought in different types of counseling services for students.  One of these included therapy dogs from Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response.  “It brings a lot of comfort and encouragement,” Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response volunteer Julia Meier said. “Physically they actually absorb the stress of the people that are petting them. The people feel better because they’re feeling calmed down.”

For full story by Blayke Roznowski and video, click here