Friday morning the team, accompanied by Pastor Bob Kitson of Trinity, Riesel, Texas started with a preschool visit at Grace Lutheran in Marlin, Texas and then returned to Lutheran Sunset Home in Clifton, Texas, where previous K-9 teams visited. Friday afternoon the team visited with children at Trinity Lutheran Church in Riesel.

Thrivent Financial in Waco, Texas held a K-9 Comfort Dog Fundraiser at the Tehuacana Creek Winery in Waco on Friday evening. TCV winery is owned by Ulf and Inga-Lill Westblom, members of Trinity, Riesel. Pastor Bob Kitson, his wife Sandy, and many members of Trinity, Riesel and surrounding churches helped prepare and serve over 200 people at the evening event. Special "Private Label" wines were available for purchase featuring Ruthie and Luther on the label and the K-9's were featured on etched stemware. The Comfort Dogs with Rich and Dona were the lead story on the 10pm Waco news on KWTX. LCC is very thankful to Sharon Koester and Tim Griesse from Thrivent who were instrumental in organizing and executing the event. Tim even played in his band for the evening.

Saturday the team revisited West, Texas the site of April's deadly fertilizer plant explosion. Together with Pastor Matthew Canion of St. Paul in Waco, Texas, the team toured Area 3 where great damage and loss occurred. The team also spent time at St. Mary's School in West where the Dallas Mavericks held a basketball and dance camp for hundreds of area children. Three of four area schools have been lost to the explosion. Afterwards the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog team visited the Long Term Recovery center in West and met with a woman who had lost her home in the explosion. Your continued prayers are needed for this community and families as they start the process of rebuilding their homes and lives after this devastating tragedy.

So, we are accepting applications NOW from individuals interested in joining us in this endeavor. There will be a limited number of people we can train so if you are interested, please fill out the application soon. The Training program will be offered in the Chicagoland, Illinois area.

For more information or to apply, click here.

LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Luther and Ruthie returned to West, Texas to bring more comfort to the community following the April 17th, 2013 fertilizer plant explosion. They spent time with many of the students from West Elementary School, which was destroyed in the explosion as well as a group of runners that were in the Boston Marathon and experienced the bombings there. On Saturday, June 15th, the group, including staff members Rich and Dona Martin and Dana Yocum, were at a camp in West, TX where the Dallas Mavericks were there to teach basketball skills to kids and the Maverick's Dancers put on dancing clinics.

On Friday night, June 14th, the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs were recognized in Waco, TX at a successful fundraiser put on by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans from Waco, Texas. A special thank you to Sharon from Thrivent for putting on this event and for all her work to make the event a reality. Their support will help the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ with more people in their time of need. Click the link below to see a news segment from Waco Channel 10 about the event.

LCC thanks the owner of a private plane (who generously donated time and expenses) and flew the Chicago group, LCC staff member Rich Martin with K-9 Comfort Dog Luther, LCC Volunteer Sharon Flaherty with K-9 Comfort Dog Susie, and Barb Granado with K-9 Comfort Dog Hannah, back to Chicago. Susie enjoyed watching the clouds go by from her window seat! The team from Trinity Lutheran Church, Davenport, IA - Bill Meyer and Rick Holste - has returned to Iowa with Gracie Comfort Dog.

LCC and our wonderful supporters keep all those in Oklahoma who have been affected by the tornadoes in our thoughts and prayers. May God bless them and aid in their recovery.

By the afternoon, the teams were visiting victims in the pediatric and adult floors of the Oklahoma University Medical Center - Click to View CNN Segment. K-9 Comfort Dogs Ruthie, Kye, Bekah, Zeke, Lila, and Barnabas continued their rounds with visits to people in multiple relief centers (in Moore and other communities), police and fire stations, and with countless families being housed in dorms at Oklahoma University. At the end of the week, the team was joined by K-9's Jackson and Louie from Joplin, Missouri and Moses from Cairo, Nebraska. In total, nine K-9's and their handlers, representing four states, joined in the response. LCC will continue to serve Oklahoma with the Comfort Dogs.