CANINE COMPANIONS GIVE HELP TO HELPERS

Crisis response program pairs dogs with chaplains to support S.D.’s first responders

SAN DIEGO

Battalion Chief David Picone remembers the car wreck on Mother’s Day some 20 years ago like it was yesterday. Picone, then a paramedic in Riverside County, comforted an uninjured toddler who was in one of the cars involved in the crash, holding the girl in his arms as he looked for her mother. The mom was dead. Years later, the crash remains in Picone’s memory the same way other traumatic events haunt his colleagues. Along with the “dayin-and-day-out grind,” the battalion chief said, it all takes its toll.

Last week, the San Diego FireRescue Department introduced three new members to help with that: Bodie, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever; Ty, a 6-year-old mini Goldendoodle; and Genoa, a 2year-old Labrador retriever. Each is paired with a chaplain. Together they will provide emotional support.

“It’s another resource that we can offer to our folks to cope with what they see day in and day out,” fire Chief Colin Stowell said.

Picone, who heads the fire department’s Health and Safety Office, called the pairing “a natural fit,” given that chaplains — the department has 17 — visit fire stations and attend debriefings in the aftermath of critical incidents, which can be traumatic.

Bodie, Ty and Genoa, who live with the chaplains, are specially trained to the standard of service dogs, although they aren’t considered service animals because their handlers, the chaplains, are not disabled. They are what is known as facility dogs, and are certified as crisis response canines.

The canine teams completed more than 120 hours of training and will be retested every three months in their first year, then annually after that.

The teams build upon other wellness efforts, including a peer support program and counseling services — initiatives that the fire department has expanded in recent years.

“There’s not one size that fits all when it comes to the mental health of our firefighters,” Stowell said.

He said critical incidents in a firefighter’s career can “trigger an acute response — or over the years, it builds up.”

Picone said the COVID-19 pandemic has been an added stressor. First, there’s the concern of bringing the virus home. Then, with fire stations closed to the community, including families, there’s the iso

K.C. ALFRED U-T Firefighter Shane Farias greets Labrador retriever Genoa as she and San Diego Fire-Rescue Chaplain Betsy Salzman visit Station 12 last week. Genoa is one of three dogs that are part of a new canine program in the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.