Our Bright Spot therapy dog teams visit wherever therapy dogs are needed. Yesterday, that need took three of our therapy dog teams to Newtown, CT to help in any way we could. Bright Spot volunteers Nancy Blow with her Newfoundland Gus and Ern Damon with his two Great Danes Lilo and Tucker, joined me with my English Setter Lily to caravan down to Newtown.
The three of us spoke on the phone the day before with a compelling need to do something to help this grieving town. For those of us involved in therapy dog work, our way of helping is to offer the comfort and unconditional love of our trained certified therapy dogs. I think everyone in some way relates to the unspeakable tragedy that took place in Newtown, CT on December 14, 2012. In my mind I think: one of those children could be my grandson, that young teacher could be my daughter, that principal could be my friend, that town could be my town. Each one of us has our own thoughts about the shootings that killed 20 innocent children and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The horrifying gravity of the situation hit us less than 1/2 a mile off the Newtown Exit as we approached the Saint Rose Parish where one of many funerals of the day was being held. I felt as though I couldn’t breath, as though my heart had stopped beating as I took in the scene. The perimeter of the church grounds was lined with uniformed firemen and police officers from all parts of the country. They stood in solemn respect, arms at their sides. The parking lot and neighboring streets were filled with the cars of mourners filing into the church. We stopped and parked up the road and walked back down to the church grounds where police officers thanked us for bringing the therapy dogs and directed us to the church parking lot to meet with folks as they disembarked from their cars. After a time, we were directed to take the dogs to the high school. The person suggesting this works for the school department and said, Those kids could really use the interaction with the dogs.
The high school, one girl told me, has a student body of 1600 . My guess is that during the several hours we spent there, every student in the school came by to pet and hug the dogs. My own therapy dogs have never ceased to amaze me, and on this day, my dear little Lily truly rose to the occasion. Lily is a young English Setter, just 3 years old. And, she is new at therapy work. I watched as a young sophomore girl knelt down on one knee to pet Lily. Lily instinctively leaned into the girl, placed her head on the girl’s bent knee and looked up into her face. At times, there were as many as 100 to 200 students in the school’s lobby surrounding these amazing 4 dogs.
A guidance counselor said to Ern Damon, Thank you for bringing your dogs today. I can’t tell you what a joy it is to see kids I was worried about, who hardly spoke all week, smiling just because they could sit on the floor and pet a dog.
I spoke with a teacher who was hugging Lily. I asked her how she and the other staff members were doing. We’re all trying to say we’re fine, but – we’re not. We’re not fine, none of us are fine. But, having your dogs here really helps. Thank you for coming here.
When the school day ended, we headed to the Town Hall and the Newtown General Store. This is the center of the town. Main Street. Across from the General Store, another funeral was taking place and, as we stood talking with folks – townspeople and people from all parts of the country – another funeral procession passed along Main Street, as all of us gathered lined the sidewalk and stood in silence.
I spoke with a town councilman who told me that this is a town that is stressed to the max. He pointed across the street, saying, That’s the town’s only funeral home. The one Catholic Church in town where many of the funerals are being held, is doubling as a funeral home in the evening to help out. I spoke with a Catholic priest from New Jersey and another clergyman who had driven all the way from the midwest. Both had come to help council those in need. The police that lined the morbidly quiet streets of Newtown came from all over, as well, to help a town in need.
Our comforting Bright Spot therapy dogs were welcomed by everyone – and everywhere we went. Everyone thanked us for bringing the dogs. One man came up to me and said, I want to make a contribution to your organization. He stood on the steps of the Town Hall and wrote a check to Bright Spot, thanking me for the good work these dogs do. The simple acts of petting and hugging and talking to these sweet loving animals helped so many who are struggling to deal with this unspeakable tragedy. One mother told Ern Damon that she asked her high school age son if he had seen his counselor today. Her son replied, No, but I got to pet a dog!
Ern Damon and I departed Newtown at the end of the day. Nancy Blow and her magnificent Newfoundland, Gus, stayed on overnight at a neighboring motel to continue meeting with folks today. I checked in with Nancy at 1:00 today. Early this morning, she and Gus had mingled with mourners filing into funerals being held simultaneously at two churches in the center of town. When we spoke, she had just left the middle school where she had been directed to go next. She said that she would soon be driving back to western Massachusetts, but like both Ern and myself, she was reluctant to leave Newtown where the dogs have been a source of comfort to so many.