TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - A dozen golden retrievers are helping ease the pain of those affected by the terror attack in Orlando, if even just for a moment. It's all part of the Lutheran Church Charities' K-9 program.
In Toledo, Anna the comfort dog belongs to Trinity Lutheran Church and School. She's one of 100 golden retrievers across the country who went through the rigorous training program to become a comfort dog with Lutheran Church Charities.
"She's comforted a lot of different types of people and that's the goal here," said Nancy Borders, one of Anna's handlers.
Borders says they were called about bringing Anna to Orlando to comfort those affected by the shooting, but they had a prior commitment.
"We would have gone had there not been enough dogs already going," said Borders. "We weighed that very heavily before we made the decision not to go because obviously this was a very, very traumatic situation."
Borders says right now the comfort dogs are giving unconditional love to those hurting in Orlando.
"These dogs will just let you pet them for as long as you want to pet them, as long as you want to hug them," said Borders. "And we're seeing the smiles that it brings to their faces, and even if it's just for a few minutes, it gives these people some sort of respite."
Nancy says she hopes the victims of the shootings see that people care.
"By bringing the dogs there and seeing that they're coming from all over the country to bring the comfort, hopefully that is sending a message," said Borders.
