Collier County EMS starts therapy dog program for first responders

Collier County EMS is partnering with Golden PAWS Assistance Dogs, Inc. to provide the county's first responders with therapy dogs.

Studies have proven that therapy dogs help people deal with stress and anxiety. And few people deal with more stress and anxiety than first responders.

"One of our paramedics started researching therapy dogs for himself and also saw a need to see how to have therapy dogs for Collier County EMS," said Noemi Garcia, deputy chief of Collier County EMS.

"First responders see a lot of difficult situations, and their level of stress is very high," said Collier EMS Chief Tabatha Butcher.

The department partnered with Golden PAWS to make Zelda and Leo available when times are tough.

"Any time we have an incident where a first responder just needs to have counseling, have some stress relief, then we will take the dogs out to visit them at the stations," Butcher said. "And it's really cute because now the ring around the agency is that, you know, ‘I need some Zelda time,’ or, ‘I need some Leo time,’ so they’ve really embraced it."

Butcher and Garcia say the program works wonders. And when Garcia puts Zelda's vest on her, the dog knows it's time to go to work.

"Whenever there's a bad call, we’ve actually gone out to the stations and visited with the paramedics," Garcia said. "And she's given them lots of love and comfort. And you can definitely see the stress go away from the paramedic when they’re petting the dog. It's something to see."

Their job is to save lives, so of course, there is a lot of stress in their day to day. "The paramedics have a very stressful job. And as our call volume increases, they’re running more calls and running more critical calls. And it's important for them to be able to have an outlet," said Garcia.

That's where Leo and Zelda come in. They are Golden PAWS assistance dogs, and the organization recently partnered with Collier County EMS to offer stress relief to first responders.

"Since this is a new program, our eventual plan is to have the dog that's assigned to the field paramedic come to work with him. That hasn't been established yet. But what he will do is he will bring the dog around to visit other first responders that are on shift when he is off," said Butcher.

Baker and Garcia said this is a first-of-its-kind partnership in Collier County.

"Whenever they see Zelda coming, they completely light up, and everyone gets on the floor and starts petting and loving on her. It's just a very neat and cool interaction to see them just melt. Melt away and just have them see how they react to her," said Garcia.

Garcia said her firefighters and paramedics love the dogs, and the dogs love them. "Whenever Zelda gets in my car to come to work, she's a little bit happy. But as soon as I’m coming through the gate, she starts panting, and she's very excited. She wants to put on her vest and come to the office and get petted and just provide that service to our office personnel to our paramedics, and even to the 911 dispatchers."

Golden PAWS Assistance Dogs is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes independence for combat-wounded veterans and children with life-changing disabilities through partnerships with skilled assistance dogs. For more information about the organization, please visit the website or call (239) 775-1660.

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