Not long ago, tragedy struck the Astroworld Festival of famous rapper Travis Scott in Houston, Texas that claimed the lives of eight people and injured dozens. The disastrous stampede immediately headlined many news outlets and became a hot topic on social media. Concertgoers were supposedly there to have fun and enjoy the artist’s music but they ended up getting traumatized.
The moment Linda Porter-Wenzlaff, the CARE coordinator for Therapy Animals of San Antonio or more commonly known as TASA, heard about the event, she immediately packed up. She and her shetland sheepdog named Indigo Moon drove straight to Houston to take part in the first-ever deployment of TASA’s CARE team, a rapid-response group of therapy dogs assembled to specifically help disaster survivors cope.
When they arrived, the dogs were more than ready to take on their hugely difficult task of providing emotional support to whoever needed it. The golden retrievers Indigo Moon and Maggie and beagle mix Bonnie are all experienced in emotional first-aid. They have also been a part of other emotional support teams for the survivors of other disasters such as fires and shootouts. They’ve been there and they know what to do.
After collecting their lost possessions and paying their respects, people came to take up the offer of hugs and petting offered by the dogs. It was a much-needed break from the shock for some people that was a part of the incident. One couple even sat on a curb and petted and hugged Indigo Moon for about five minutes. It was quite a long time to only sit and pet a dog, but it seemed they really needed that.
Linda was just happy to be there with Indigo Moon and help people get through the horrendous event that happened. And indeed, dogs really do make a difference.
Source: Yahoo