Published on April 23, 2024
The Wilmington Fire Department is adding a fourth and fifth Crisis Response Facility Dog to its program with paws4people® foundation. The program currently utilizes Crisis Response Facility Dog RHYS at WFD Station 8 on C Shift, Crisis Response Facility Dog HEART at Station 2 on A Shift, and Crisis Response Dog AXEL at Station 2 on B Shift. Building on the success of that program, JETHRO and CLYDE and their handlers are being added to the roster. JETHRO will report to work with his handler, Lt. Josh Baltz, at Station 3 on C Shift. CLYDE will report to work with his handler, Captain John Greene who works in the Training Division. Like RHYS, HEART, and AXEL, the new dogs will work at the fire station on their shift and go home with their firefighter handler when they are off duty. RHYS, HEART, AXEL, JETHRO, and CLYDE are part of a larger Mental Health and Wellness program the department is pushing. The goal of the program is to aid in de-escalation of stress post-call, ease tension at the station, lower anxiety, reduce long-term effects of PTSD, and improve cardiovascular health. In addition, the Facility Dogs provide comfort in emergency situations, both at the department and at the scene of an emergency in the community to ease the distress of anyone affected by the trauma. For more information about the paws4people®, visit their webpage here: https://www.paws4people.org/about-us.