AFTER LOCKDOWN ENDS IN WISCONSIN TOWN, K-9 COMFORT DOGS AND LCC CARE TEAM RESPOND TO HURTING COMMUNITY

The anxiety and stress of the last day and a half was still overwhelming.

An armed man making threats, firing guns indiscriminately, and barricading himself in a house in a quiet neighborhood had thrust part of Fredonia, Wisconsin, into a 38-hour lockdown on Friday and Saturday, including St. John Lutheran Church just down the street. 

Even though the incident was over by Sunday morning, lingering trauma remained.

Knowing morning worship services could be tense, St. John Pastor Rev. Marshal Frisque (pictured) reached out to Lutheran Church Charities, and three LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams and an LCC Care Team answered the call.   

With wagging tails and calming presence, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Charity (Brookfield Lutheran - Brookfield, Wisconsin), Hagar (Faith Lutheran - Appleton, Wisconsin), and Mary (St. Paul Lutheran - Janesville, Wisconsin), with their handlers were at the church to offer comfort, support, and prayers for congregants impacted by the stress-filled circumstances. Pastor Frisque checked on families in the neighborhood and invited them to meet the comfort dogs as well.

Joining them was a two-person LCC Care team of Parish Nurse Deb Hammen of Beautiful Savior Mequon, Wisconsin, and Cassandra Mammen of St. Paul Grafton, Wisconsin, both trained in administering Spiritual First Aid™. Each met with congregants and community members, assessing their emotional, physical, and spiritual needs and encouraging them to ease into a more relaxed frame of mind.

One moment stood out.

Becky Kilvinger, Top Dog for Charity Comfort Dog, noticed a woman with her head in her hands, seemingly overcome by distress.

“While greeting people before the second worship service, I noticed a church member grab a box of tissues and watched as the Pastor handed them to a woman,” Kilvinger recalled. “I asked [Pastor Frisque] if I could go over and say hello with Charity, and he agreed. We sat beside her, offered a hug, and she gently petted Charity. Charity then laid down at her feet. The woman was visibly distraught—sobbing, trembling, her face buried in her hands. We stayed with her through the entire service. She either looked at the cross or at Charity.”

Midway through the service, the woman’s grief and anxiety overwhelmed her.

“It was as if she had reached a point where she felt just safe enough to let go,” Kilvinger said. “We asked Deb, the Parish Nurse, to help her, and Deb guided her through breathing exercises saying, ‘Deep breath in, deep breath out. Look at the cross. You are here; you are safe.’” 

After the service, Kilvinger and Hammen sat with her, offered her food, and helped her get home safely.
“Before we left, she showed us photos of her family,” Kilvinger shared. “Her son passed away in October, and her husband died earlier this year. Her other son lives across the country. She’s endured unimaginable loss, now compounded by the recent traumatic events.”

Please lift Fredonia, Wisconsin, and St. John Lutheran Church up in your prayers as the community seeks peace in the coming days.

Help Us Be There When Crisis Strikes
When tragedy hits, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams and LCC Care Teams respond with the Mercy, Compassion, Presence, and Proclamation of Jesus Christ. In Fredonia, Wisconsin, they sat beside the grieving, comforted the anxious, and reminded a hurting community they were not alone.

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