 Lutheran Church Charities was invited by Jeremy Sanders, Battalion Chief, Cal Fire, Employee Support Services, to bring the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs to be with the first responders protecting life and property of those affected by the California wildfires. As thousands of firefighters continue to battle dozens of fires in California, two LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry teams continued to give much needed emotional relief to hundreds of firefighters working out of two base camps in Northern California. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Aaron (St. John’s – Napa, California) and Micah (Light of the Valley – Elk Grove, California) and their teams met firefighters and support teams at Cal Fire base camps at the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California, and Napa Valley Fairgrounds in Calistoga, California throughout the week.
 Aaron Comfort Dog has been busy traveling between the Pleasanton and Calistoga Cal Fire Base Camps serving the firefighters and support staff from all over the West Coast who are battling the LNU Lightning Complex Fire and the Santa Clarita Unit (SCU) Lightning Complex Fires in Northern California. These fires alone cover almost 700,000 acres. These brave heroes have been out on the line for 14 days. They are hot, exhausted, and missing their families and pets. Some are anxious as they await their orders to either finally go home or to be re-assigned for another 7- 14 days. Most just grabbed on to Aaron and hug him for a long while. Sometimes even tears surfaced as they told us about their dogs at home and how they miss their families. Aaron Comfort Dog and his team have been to so many fire base camps through the years that we oftentimes hear from a distance, “Is that Aaron?” It is reassuring to know that our visits make an impact and that these selfless heroes remember us. We are blessed to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
 Micah Comfort Dog went to the Alameda County Fair Grounds in Pleasanton to provide comfort to the SCU firefighters and support staff. It was a great visit with many of the firefighters mentioning how much they missed their dogs and that Micah made their day. Some of the support staff were joking about who Micah loved the most. It was an honor to be there as the firefighters were going out and those coming back in after being out for 24 hours. There is a village of people that support the firefighters, such as the food service, laundry, security, facilities, training, and accommodations, air-conditioned sleeping units, keeping the grounds clean, etc. The SCU fire has burned 383,157 acres as of Monday morning and is 60% contained.
Please pray for these courageous men and women who put their lives on the line to stop these dangerous and destructive fires. God bless them all and those affected by these fires.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1) LCC never goes where we are not invited. The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry NEVER charges those we serve. We pick up all of our travel and meal costs. We put boots and paws on the ground within 24 hours (often fewer) from the time we get the invite. Please consider a donation to the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry so that we may continue to show the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. Comments are closed.
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