At the end of yesterday's service at Atonement Lutheran Church, parishioners headed to the exit with their newest member ready to greet them. Rosie, a 14-month-old golden retriever, sat quietly beside her handler as children rushed to pet her and adults welcomed her with kind words and scratches behind her ear.

At the end of yesterday's service at Atonement Lutheran Church, parishioners headed to the exit with their newest member ready to greet them.

Rosie, a 14-month-old golden retriever, sat quietly beside her handler as children rushed to pet her and adults welcomed her with kind words and scratches behind her ear.

Rosie, who was born and raised in the Chicago area, has spent the past month acclimating to the church and the community, offering affection to church members in assisted-living centers, children's summer camps and hospitals.

She officially became Atonement's comfort dog during yesterday's service, where her trainers from Lutheran Church Charities passed her leash to the dozen people from the church who will care for her while she's on and off the job.

"She will serve the church, but primarily she's here for our church to serve the community," said the Rev. Brian Larson, the pastor.

Rosie is the first comfort dog in Ohio from Lutheran Church Charities' comfort-dog ministry, which has trained and placed 80 dogs across the country.

The program started in 2008 after the faith-based organization provided dogs to work with people following a shooting at Northern Illinois University, where six died, including the gunman.

Since then, the group has dispatched comfort-dog teams to various crises, including the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

"We saw how really important they were," said Dan Fulkerson, who trains comfort dogs for Lutheran Church Charities.

"These kids were lying on the floor," he said, referring to those who had lost their siblings in the Sandy Hook rampage, where 26 children and adults were gunned down at the school. "They wouldn't talk to counselors. But they were talking to these dogs, and they were telling them their stories. And pretty soon, that allowed them to talk to the counselors as well."

Atonement church leaders heard about the program from a member and applied for a comfort dog. Rosie was specifically chosen for the Northwest Side church because of the school's preschool program.

"When we match a dog to a church, we look at what (the church is) doing, what their mission is," said Fulkerson, who worked with Rosie at his home in Portage, Ind. "She does great with seniors, but she does really good with preschoolers."

Rosie comes to the church with her own Facebook page - which has about 1,300 likes - and a Bible verse from Psalm 86:15: But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

More than a dozen Atonement parishioners have gone through training to help Rosie when she works.

"What we're doing is we're practicing and making sure we can work with her so when an emergency - whether it's locally, regionally or nationally - happens, we can go and help," said Mary Ludlum, who coordinates the church's comfort-dog ministry. "This is something we can do to spread good."

When Rosie's not working, she'll stay with the church's music director.

"When she's got her vest on, she's trained to be calm, loving and peace-inducing," Ludlum said. "When the vest is off, she runs around and plays. She's a regular dog."

During yesterday's service, Rosie kept to her handler's side, often lying on the floor throughout the hourlong service. As members sang hymns, Rosie laid on her side as a couple of children lingered. They examined her feet, scratched her head and ran their fingers through her hair.

"Rosie is such a loving, loving dog," Fulkerson said. "She's ready to give her love to anybody that wants it."

Visits with Rosie can be scheduled by contacting Atonement Lutheran Church at 614-451-1880.

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