Healing process in the aftermath of the Kaiser Canyon, WA, fire opens doors

By Miriam Deuel, LCC K-9 Top Dog

​Life can be difficult on tribal Reservation land—harder still when a wildfire is raging through, triggering evacuations and burning homes to the ground. But take two, fluffy golden retrievers and add in six smiling, warm faces, and suddenly, life seems a bit softer and less harsh.

On July 29, Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog Teams Fisher (Christ The King - Coeur d'Alene, ID) and Isaac (Redeemer - Spokane Valley, WA) responded to the call from Pastor Shawn Neider of Zion Lutheran Church in Grand Coulee, WA, to share the mercy and compassion of Jesus to those affected by the Kaiser Canyon fire in east central Washington. 

Started by a lightning strike on July 16, the Kaiser Canyon fire has burned more than 136,547 acres, mostly in the Colville Confederated Tribes Reservation land as well as towns inside and around it like Nespelem and Omak.  

Pastor Shawn and Teams Isaac and Fisher planned to visit two Red Cross evacuation camps and a convalescent home in Nespelem.

However, like true stewards of Christ, the teams allowed God to take the lead and go where the Lord opened doors.  

Turns out, He opened a lot of them.  

One door opened to the Colville Tribal Fire Department, where their firefighters had a rough night dealing with a fire flare up that burned down multiple homes in an area they thought had been spared.  They were exhausted, emotionally and physically, and having Comfort Dogs Isaac and Fisher around for 30 minutes was, “The best thing that has happened to us all month,” said the firefighters. Their gratitude just seeped from them. It was beautiful.
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Another open door led to the Department of Social and Health Services Mobile unit, whose team was working out of a refurbished RV to get crucial resources to the locals in this difficult time. Their three staff members were thrilled to have the Comfort Dogs visit, and one staffer was even celebrating her birthday that day.  As the dogs and their handlers were leaving, the staff member commented, “This is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”

An open door brought Teams Isaac and Fisher to Tribal Veteran’s Services, run by Vincent who knew of a family who lost their home just the night before and were still missing a beloved dog, hoping and praying that Cupcake would turn up.  The dogs and ministry members visited with the mother and her little girl, and as the little girl petted the dogs, the worry lines in her little face faded away. “We began to see the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile.  She didn't want to leave.  We didn’t want her to leave, either.”

One door opened to a young mother and her daughter to whom Pastor Shawn gives pastor care. They had just returned from evacuation. The sweet girl wasn’t sure about the dogs, which is understandable since many dogs that wander the reservation are aggressive. But Caregiver Gail Neidhold drew on her love for children to create a lovely and positive interaction for the sweet girl over Isaac and paw print stickers.  “We left her with a smile on her face.  Mission accomplished.”

Through another open door, Teams Isaac and Fisher walked up to some burly, fire crew guys who were waiting in a local park in Omak to get called in with their bulldozer.  The teams simply approached them with a warm hello and said, “We have these two comfort dogs and we are visiting with folks today. Are you interested in saying hi for a few minutes?”  The answer was a resounding YES!  What followed was a good 25 minutes of conversation that ran the gamut from dogs to fire to faith. When it was time to move on, these men expressed how grateful they were that the dogs and their teams had stopped for them.

Still another open door to Colville Tribal Headquarters where a team of more than 30 people were working on coordinated emergency response. The two K-9 teams unintentionally showed up right during dinner time but the emergency crews still stopped to say hi. “Many expressed their gratitude for us showing up, saying they expected this for fire victims, but not for them. We explained to them that we love to help the helpers.” 

And of course, the Lord let us have our planned visits as well.  

At the tribal convalescent home, the K-9 teams had to mask up due to COVID-19 and try to communicate to people who were hard of hearing and had their faced covered, while loud fans blew all around. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. “Despite some challenging circumstances, we had some great interactions with some people who needed some fluffy fun in their lives.”  The favorite moment of the visit was when a resident looked up at Pastor Dan of Team Fisher and pointed at him and yelled, “PRETTY!”  Dan’s reply, “I won’t take off my mask and disappoint you.” Humor is the best medicine.

Lastly, Teams Isaac and Fisher visited the two Red Cross evacuation centers in Omak and Grand Cooley.  At one, the only ones who wanted to meet with us were a few volunteer staff, and that’s ok. God puts in front of you the people who you are meant to serve. At the second, we had a great visit with a grandmother and her five grandchildren who had been there for many days waiting for the evacuation orders to lift.

Looking around the high school gym turned shelter, at the cots spread only feet from each other, where folks had to sleep next to strangers, where there was no privacy, where everything from intimate wear to toiletries was not your own but had to be doled out to you, it’s easy to see what a strain this limbo takes on those in shelters who are waiting to hear if their home will survive the fire.  Where will they go if it burns? “We could not answer those questions for them, but we could just show up and sit quietly with them while they pet Fisher and Isaac. The quiet ministry of presence.”
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The day began early. The teams left home at 6:30 am and didn’t arrive back at their homes until 10:00 pm.  “It was a long and exhausting day, but our hearts were full.”