UVALDE, Texas – It’s the first day of school for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, and the day is all about its students, teachers and staff.
The district is working hard to make the students feel safe when they walk through the doors for the first time since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school last May.
It’s why the district has invited 10 teams of comfort dogs from 11 states, and their handlers to be on the eight campuses for the next three weeks.
The Lutheran Church Charities K-9 comfort dogs arrived Monday in Uvalde and went straight to work at the town square. Community members stopped to pet the teams of golden retrievers.
The dogs and their handlers will be on campus starting Tuesday with the goal of simply being there for the students, teachers and staff.
Bonnie Fear, who works with Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dogs, says sometimes it’s just easier for people to get their emotions out through being comforted by a dog, rather than talking about it.
The teams go through vigorous amounts of training, needing over 2,000 hours to ensure the comfort dogs stay calm through any situation.