When students and teachers returned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week after a Feb. 14 school shooting that left 17 dead, a team of golden retrievers were there to offer comfort and hope.

Cubby, a comfort dog from Fort Collins, was among the furry, four-legged counselors, gently placing her paw on the hands and arms of the traumatized students and teachers, lying alongside teenagers in classrooms with glaringly empty seats and offering pure, plain comfort.

Bonnie Fear, one of Cubby’s ministry team, described how students and teachers, in a time of stress and tragedy, smiled when they saw the Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dogs, how they would drop to the floor to pet Cubby or stretch out next to her and just relax.

“You saw that relief of forgetting what happened when they see the dog,” said Fear, who along with Carol Salander, both volunteer handlers, traveled to in Parkland, Fla., with Cubby. “She’s called a comfort dog, and that’s exactly what she did, bring comfort to people who were hurting.”

The national Lutheran organization sent 30 dogs from around the United States to Florida, in the aftermath of the shooting, with teams visiting elementary and middle schools, memorial services and vigils before the high school reopened. Cubby was one of 11 dogs in the second round, visiting last week to be at the school when teachers and students returned.

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