Handler, dog bring comfort to Maine town

“Well this has to be a first, where a passenger’s taking over the intercom,” Andy Garmezy said, addressing those aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Boston.

Garmezy, of Franklin, Tenn., and his golden retriever, Cooper, were aboard the flight last Sunday as they traveled to Lewiston, Maine, to comfort a grieving community reeling from a mass shooting a few days earlier.

The duo volunteer with National Crisis Response Canines, a nonprofit that brings the warmth and comfort of dogs to crisis situations. He and Cooper drew attention from others as they waited to board the plane.

Once up in the air, Southwest let Garmezy explain to the passengers just why he and 8-yearold Cooper were aboard. “Cooper and I are a team with the National Crisis Response Canines, and this is our fifth mass casualty deployment that we’ve been asked to go and help the first responders and the victims,” he said over the intercom.

He went on to say that L.L. Bean, the iconic Maine retailer, had asked that they travel to Lewiston in the aftermath of the Oct. 25 shootings that killed 18 people and injured at least a dozen more.

Garmezy and Cooper flew last year to Uvalde, Texas, to comfort victims of the mass shooting there at an elementary school. On that plane ride, a flight attendant suggested passengers write down messages of love for the kids and their families.

When Garmezy told that to a flight attendant on the Boston flight, they also suggested passengers write notes of hope to the people of Lewiston.

Passengers scribbled their thoughts down on napkins. Garmezy read a few of them aloud.

“In our hearts and in our prayers,” a passenger wrote. “These are dark days, but always remember that the sun will shine again,” wrote another.

As he spoke, passenger Felisha Lees of Sandown, N.H., captured every word on her smartphone. She later posted the video on TikTok and it has since been widely shared. Katie Couric Media posted it on Instagram. As of Saturday night, the video had 275,000 views.

“Thinking about it now, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” said Lees, who was seated behind Andy and Cooper after a last-minute flight change. “This is like some universal sign told me that I had to be on this airplane to capture this man’s story.”

Southwest also shared the video on Instagram.

“As the airline with Heart, we’re proud to see passengers from Flight 1843 flying from Nashville to Boston last Sunday rally together with messages of love and support for this community,” the airline said in a statement Saturday.

Lees said the widespread response to her video has been “unexpected.”

“I am just so incredibly grateful that this organization and Andy and Cooper have been given the recognition that they so deserve for all of the good that they’re doing in a time of sadness and sorrow,” Lees said on Saturday night. “When people have lost hope and faith, they are there to bring people up.”

Once in Boston, Garmezy and Cooper rented a car and drove to Maine, where they stayed until Thursday.

“The human-canine bond, it’s amazing what it can do for bringing resiliency in and starting the healing of what people have been through,” he said in a telephone interview.

They attended community vigils and met with first responders, Garmezy said.

“It’s never easy, but I really believe Cooper was put on this earth to help people: he’s got soul, he’s intuitive,” Garmezy said. “As my trainers say, he’s a once-in-a-lifetime dog — he’s just special.”