The world of the Red Cross involves many partnerships. One of those is Lend a Heart-Lend a Hand Animal Assistance who provided therapy dogs to one of the Red Cross shelters in Amador County. The Jackson Rancheria Hotel Casino had been converted into a Red Cross shelter initially housing hundreds of people who had escaped the flames of the Butte fire. The canine companions could be seen mingling with shelter residents offering comfort and hope.
One such dog was a poodle named Credo. They say poodles are one of the smartest breeds there are and clearly Credo represented that. He was extremely smart and one of his tricks was to pretend that he had a cold and was sneezing. He would then grab a tissue from a box. The novelty alone provided an entertaining diversion from the situation at hand. Credo has a complete repertoire of tricks including putting laundry in the dryer, picking up items dropped and even retrieving medications. For this assignment he was there to just offer the unconditional love dogs are known for. Other therapy dogs could be seen visiting shelter residents exhibiting the kind of unconditional love dogs are known for.
The Red Cross also has it’s own corps of therapy dogs called the American Red Cross Canine Action Team.
It takes a whole community to make a community whole and these furry friends are part of that community.
Gold Country News and Notes 