Please Note: The dog in the accompanying photograph is the subject of the story, but any persons shown are probably not those in the story.
When the fires spread through Los Angeles, I felt so helpless. Like many Angelenos, I wanted to help in some way. I sought out opportunities to visit some of the displaced residents and first responders with my Love On 4 Paws therapy dog, Freddy. I went to a World Central Kitchen (WCK) location in Altadena. The scene was devastating; across the street from the WCK food truck were burned-down houses and skeletons of cars. A crowd of firefighters was waiting outside the food truck for their breakfast burritos.
As Freddy and I approached, the mood changed. The first responders’ faces lit up as they crowded around Freddy, petting him and shaking his paw. Many of the firefighters were away from home, sent to Los Angeles where they were staying at the Rose Bowl as they fought the fires in Altadena. They showed me pictures of their dogs back home, telling me how much they missed having a dog around.
After our visit with the firefighters, I decided to take Freddy to another WCK location nearby. This one also had a distribution center for the displaced residents. As the locals came to get their food and donations, they stopped to pet Freddy. They were carrying a heaviness that was briefly lifted when they interacted with him. The fires in Los Angeles have been truly devastating, and there’s nothing I can do to alleviate that pain, but the least I can do is offer some puppy love to help people get through their day.
