Paws that Comfort Healing Hearts

Grief settled heavily over Sterling Public School in Nebraska after the tragic loss of Chloe Jane Paulson, a 16-year-old sophomore whose life was cut short in a car accident on March 23, 2026. Chloe was a vibrant and deeply involved student. She earned honor roll recognition and participated in volleyball, basketball, speech, band, choir, and cheerleading—leaving her mark on nearly every corner of school life.

Her absence is deeply felt by students, staff, and especially her family, including her two younger brothers in 8th grade and 3rd grade, who share the same school building and now navigate unimaginable loss within its walls.

In response, an Emergency Site Visit (ESV) was requested by Felicia Martin, Director of Health Services. LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry teams Glory (Christ Lincoln - Lincoln, NE) and Phinehas (Trinity - Fremont, NE), arrived ready to offer presence, compassion, and a quiet kind of healing that words often cannot provide.

“When we get an ESV request, we usually have to quickly change our whole day. That happened this time too—it felt like we were meant to be there,” one handler shared.

Though it was their first time in the Sterling community, a sense of familiarity met them at the door. “When we walked into the school and saw counselors we already knew—we had worked with most of them from another ESV a few months back—it felt comforting right away.”

From the youngest students to staff and crisis counselors, the weight of Chloe’s loss was unmistakable. “From the kindergartners to the 8th graders to the staff and Crisis Response Team counselors, it was evident from the moment we arrived that Chloe’s death had a profound impact.”

In such a small school—where the sophomore class includes just 17 students—connections run deep. Everyone knew Chloe. Everyone felt the loss.

Throughout the day, students processed their grief in different ways. Some gathered in the library, exhausted after sleepless nights. Others shared stories, tears, or simply sat in silence. Phinehas moved gently among them, offering quiet companionship.

“We never know how the day will go,” a handler reflected. “Some students were in the library resting because they hadn’t slept, and Phinehas quietly stayed with them, just being there. Others shared memories of Chloe, while some sat, cried, and petted the dogs. Everyone was thankful we came.”

One powerful moment unfolded in that same library. As the team entered, a librarian encouraged a student to sit with the comfort dog, Glory. The student hesitated only briefly before sitting down. Glory instinctively curled up, resting her head in the student’s lap.

No words were spoken.

The student began to cry.

Later that afternoon, she returned. This time, she shared that Chloe had been her best friend since first grade. In that quiet space, with Glory beside her, she found the ability to speak her grief aloud.

“I feel our presence helped give Ellen (and others we saw) some peace in the moment,” the handler said.
Another interaction offered a different kind of insight. An eighth-grade student lingered nearby, asking thoughtful questions about what comfort dogs do and how they help.

“I asked her how she felt when she saw Phinehas,” the handler recalled. “She said it made her happy and want to snuggle him. I told her—that’s comfort.”

Their conversation deepened. The student asked if it was difficult to be around so many people who are hurting.

“That made me pause,” the handler shared. “She’s only in eighth grade. I told her yes, sometimes it is hard to see people hurting, especially when they’ve lost someone. But just being there in that moment can help them feel a little less alone.”

They sat together for about 20 minutes, talking quietly.

“At the end, I asked her name. She smiled and said, ‘Faith.’ In that moment, it felt like a little Godwink just for us.”

Moments like these—simple, human, deeply meaningful—are where healing begins. Not in fixing the pain, but in sharing it. In sitting together. In remembering. In allowing space for both tears and small glimpses of comfort.

As the Sterling community continues to grieve, they do so side by side—students, staff, families, and friends holding each other up through heartbreak. The presence of the comfort dogs did not erase the pain, but it softened the edges, offering connection in a time of overwhelming loss.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with Chloe’s family, her brothers, her friends, and the entire Sterling Public School community. In the midst of sorrow, their closeness—and their care for one another—shines through.

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