FEMA Requests Therapy Dogs to Bring Comfort to Hurricane Katrina Survivors
Release Date: December 21, 2005
Release Number: 1603-243
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has requested Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response teams to provide comfort to individuals in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana.
Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response is a national nonprofit organization whose members include certified therapy dogs and handlers that have been trained to provide emotional support to victims and response workers following a disaster.
Since the organization was formed in 1998, its members have provided care and comfort to victims of disasters such as the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks and the 2003 California wildfires.
Hope is deploying twelve dogs and their handlers to Louisiana from its eastern region based in Richmond, Virginia. An additional team will also be coming from New York. These teams will visit with individuals in the Red Cross Chapters, Disaster Recovery Centers and travel trailer parks for two weeks. Some of the animals traveled with their owners by airline, while others traveled 16 hours by car. Some of the dog breeds include both pure bred and mix breeds: Golden Retriever, Boston Terrier, Labrador Retriever, Black Mouth Cur, Whipet, Lhasa Apso and Bishon Frise.
The holidays are especially hard for those who are coping with their losses from Hurricane Katrina. Hope's crisis therapy dogs can create a special bridge to those who are in isolation or have become depressed as a result of this trauma. Research has shown that people benefit from interacting with animals following a crisis. Blood pressure levels also decrease when animals are present. For some people, touch from another person is unacceptable, but the warm furry touch of a dog is welcomed.
For more information about Hope and how you can support their mission, visit their website at www.hopecrisisresponse.org.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 21-Dec-2005 16:32:43