Dear LCC Comfort Dogs Ministry:

My husband's parents, Barbara and Ralph Kalmar, passed away within 12 hours of each other (due to their individual, not related medical conditions) on Monday, January 17th. They were both members of St. John Lutheran in Darien, Illinois.

Their wake was attended by hundreds of family and friends from all over and it was so wonderful that Shami was able to be there with her handler. She and her handler stayed almost the entire time of the wake and was truly a "comfort" to all who took a moment to stop and pet her. My in-laws were pet lovers and always had either a cat or dog in the house (sometimes both at the same time!) for as long as I can remember. Shami had made several visits to them when they were in their assisted living apartment. They made sure to tell us that Shami had stopped by and truly enjoyed the time spent with her.

It is my prayer that the LCC Comfort Dogs Ministry continues its most important mission of comfort and joy. We are grateful to have experienced it first hand during a very sad, trying time in our life.

Thank you.
Josie Kalmar

• Concordia Lutheran Church & School - 2300 Wilshire Road, Springfield, IL 62703
• Lutheran High School - 3500 West Washington Street, Springfield, IL 62711-7922
• Our Savior's Lutheran Church & School - 2645 Old Jacksonville Road, Springfield, IL 62704
• Trinity Lutheran Church & School - 515 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield, IL 62704

Pete Imlah shared about the mission and ministry of Lutheran Church Charities along with sharing a message of hope, compassion and challenge with the students and teachers. The dogs visited the classrooms where students and teachers had a chance to ask questions about the dogs and then get to pet them. Each student was also given a business card of the LCC K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs. Each card has a picture of the dog and information about the work that they do as well as their contact information. Every LCC K-9 Comfort Dog has their own Facebook Fan Page and an email address so that individuals can follow the Comfort Dogs' activates and stay connected.

On Tuesday evening, Our Savior's Lutheran Church hosted a "Who Let The Dogs Out" Rally where Pete Imlah shared how and why the LCC K-9 Parish Comfort Dog Ministry began, ways in which K-9's can be used as a outreach tool for congregations and schools to reach their communities, and success stories on the impact the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs are having. The event was interpreted for the hearing impaired who attended. We appreciate Matt Winkelman, the new DCE at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Springfield, who helped as a K-9 Handler for Tara, and for his hospitality.

On Saturday, December 11th, K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs Prince and Barnabas attended the annual Holy Cross Lutheran Church Breakfast with Santa. At this free community event Santa read a book that told the children of the real Christmas story and then the children got to decorate cookies, make Christmas crafts, and sing songs. Everyone had a great time including the dogs.

On December 9th, K9 Parish Comfort Dog Shami, from St. John's Lutheran Church in Darien, IL, paid a visit to the ENCORE unit at The Birches. This unit specializes in the care and support of those suffering from memory disorders. Shami lit up the room for the residents by bringing the peace, comfort and joy of Christ packaged in fur and four legs.

Shami has been given an open invitation to return any time and bring her special kind of comfort that only a dog can bring.

On Saturday, December 18, LCC Comfort Dog Gunnar was invited to attend the dedication ceremony of a handicap ramp in honor of fallen soldier, Sgt. Joshua W. Harris. The ceremony was held at St. John Evangelical Lutheran in Forest Park, IL where the ramp leads to its church and school. The dedication was followed by a reception at the church.

Joshua was a graduate of St. John and also of Walther Lutheran High School in Melrose Park, IL where Gunnar works on a daily basis with high school students. Joshua joined the National Guard Reserves while still a student at Walther and later became a full-time member of the military during which time he was deployed to Afghanistan where he lost his life.

While training for his service in Afghanistan, Joshua earned the nickname of "Gunner" for his excellent marksmanship skills. He was often referred to as the "Top Gun" of his unit. Given Joshua's connection to Walther and Gunnar's official name of Top Gun, Gunnar was invited to attend the dedication by Bill Harris, Joshua's father. Both Mille Harris-Hicke, Joshua's mother, and Bill Harris were pleased that Gunnar was able to attend and happy that he could provide comfort for those still mourning the loss of Joshua.