Money raised for service dog, will help EMS workers

Albus sits in front of a Hardin County EMS ambulance.

A local paramedic and his service dog got a Christmas gift that likely will help many more emergency service workers in Hardin County.

Tim Gillum is a paramedic with Hardin County EMS, and he has a service dog, a 4-year-old German Shepherd named Albus.

Gillum brings Albus to work with him, and he said he noticed Albus was having a big effect on coworkers. About two months ago, Gillum said they had a critical incident stress debriefing, and he and Albus were invited.

"He can read people's body language, and if he senses the right triggers, he kind of just forces himself on you," Gillum said. "It forces you to break your thought process on what you’re thinking. It relaxes everyone."

Gillum said they’ve decided to start their own critical incident stress management team locally, with Albus being the therapy dog.

But Albus needed some new gear to do his job better, a vest and a collar, which would fit him differently and give him different queues.

"Dogs don't speak English," Gillum said.

He planned on fundraising for the money himself, to the tune of about $400, but then he met Sarah Fellows with the Friends of the Hardin County Animal Shelter.

He said Fellows came through the bay doors for a meeting, and he and Albus were there. As an animal lover, Fellows wanted to meet Albus.

"It just kind of went from there," Gillum said.

A post was made to the Friends of the Hardin County Animal Shelter Facebook and Instagram pages on Christmas Eve morning, sharing photos of Albus, his story and making a request for donations.

"We are very aware of how generous our community is, so we weren't surprised that people would want to help," Fellows said. "Add to that the fact that Albus will help our essential emergency services workers, we felt like we could get support."

And they did get support. Within about an hour, more than $400 was raised, which will cover the vest, collar and a few other items Albus will use as a therapy dog with the emergency services personnel, Fellows said.

"It was a wonderful Christmas story," Fellows said.

Seth Dukes can be reached at 270-505-1413 or [email protected].

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