Gardner FD’s therapy dog provides comfort
The latest member of the Gardner Fire Department was asked to raise his right paw by City Clerk Titi Siriphan to be “barked in” Monday.
K-9 Sully became the department’s first official therapy/comfort dog at a ceremony during the City Council meeting at City Hall. Several of the city’s first responders including K-9 Rocky of the Gardner Police Department were in attendance.
Sully, a 14-month-old, 160-pound English Mastiff owned by Lt. Eric and Denise Hulette, is a certified and registered therapy dog. He joined the department about a month ago to provide the city’s first responders with a comforting presence following particularly traumatic calls, according to Eric.
“After something that really shakes them up, (Sully) comes in and distracts them and takes their minds off of it for a while,” Eric explained, adding that Sully’s duties were not limited to first responders in Gardner. “He’s already gone to a couple of other towns including Ashburnham and Hubbardston, and helped over there after some bad calls.”
Denise, who is a nurse at the UMass Medical Center’s pediatric department, said she realized soon after Sully was adopted last year that the animal had the calm and soothing temperament required to make him an effective comfort dog.
“Sully was our pet but I knew right away that he would be able to do this,” she said.
There is a growing trend across the country of fire departments keeping a therapy dog on staff, Eric explained.
“There’s been a huge increase in first responder suicides due to work-related stress, so therapy dogs really do some magic when they come around and help,” he said. “When you’re doing your job and you’re on the scene, you’re not really thinking about anything else. It’s when you get done and you’re back at the station after a call, that’s when the trouble settles in and you think about what you just saw.”
A welcome presence at Fire Department Headquarters
Firefighter Carl Ogert said Sully was a welcome presence at the department headquarters.
“He’s there whenever we have a tough call and we’re working through our feelings, and he’ll be there for all of the citizens in the community when they need him,” Ogert said. “Everybody loves it when he comes by.”
Mayor Michael Nicholson’s appointment of Sully — referred to as “Mr. Sullivan Hulette” on the City Council agenda — to the permanent position of the department’s therapy dog was passed unanimously by the board.
“I move to confirm the mayor’s appointment and wish (Sully) good luck and many treats in his service to our community,” said Councilor George Tyros.
Nicholson said Sully’s appointment would be an asset to the fire department and the community.
“We deal with enough traumatic situations that our firefighters respond to and now we have a dog like this to help the people who are at those situations recover and really reflect through things in a way that is healthy for their mental health,” he said.