DogExpress
San Diego firefighters were closing up their fourth call when Genoa, a yellow lab-golden retriever mix, came to meet the firefighters.
Firefighters returned gear to the car one by one, pausing for a half-hour each time to play, pet and hug Genoa, a crisis therapy dog who was fulfilling her job of relieving humans’ stress.
Genoa’s handler, Betsy Salzman, stated, “There was simply a continual stream of snuggles and pets.” “(Dogs) help them to get through the day.).” They re-establish equilibrium.”
“Our workforce has been under enormous stress lately — the consequences of COVID, weariness and a historic fire season up north,” San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell remarked at a recent ceremony to welcome new dogs into the ranks.
Stowell said his family was simply exhausted at the Balboa Park event. Stress was affecting my personal life as well. As a result, the canine program was created as a stress-relieving tool for firefighters in a relaxing setting.
Genoa was one of two crisis dogs present at the USS Midway’s 9-11 anniversary event. According to Salzman, a veteran who had recently lost both a military companion and a service dog approached Genoa, requested to pet him, and sobbed. The veteran left the event after patting the dog and saying he was fine.
The Program
The year-old Crisis Response Canine Program in San Diego, which is reported to be the first of its kind in the US under a chaplaincy program, has received overwhelmingly good feedback from employees.
Gina Esoldi, director of the NGO Next Step Service Dogs, is responsible for the dogs, which she trains with the handlers for roughly 120 hours before donating them to San Diego Fire-Rescue, San Diego Police Department, and La Mesa Police Department.
Because of their disposition and non-confrontational appearance, the majority are golden lab and retriever mixes. One of them is a typical poodle. Dogs are suited to the personality of the handler and the requirements of the department.
Source: US News
in Chandigarh, India. 
