Riggs the dog: From rescued dog to dog to the rescue
The Brief
Gilmer County Fire Rescue will soon have a new therapy dog that lost its owner in a fire in January.
The department named him Lt. Riggs. He's currently undergoing obedience training, and they hope to have him out in the community in about six months.
The goal is for Riggs to support both firefighters and community members.
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. - Gilmer County Fire Rescue responded to a fire in January where the owner didn't survive.
That's when firefighters learned several dogs lived in a shed out back, including Riggs.
The backstory
When the family couldn't take Riggs, the fire department knew they couldn't let him go.
Firefighters say they want him to help others in the community the same way he helped them, which is why they decided to train him to be a therapy dog.
The non-profit Friends of Gilmer County Animal Shelter arranged his medical care and connected them with a trainer.
Once his training is complete, Riggs will be based out of Station 1 in Gilmer County, ready to respond wherever he's needed.
What they're saying
"Despite all the chaos that was going on at this fire, Riggs remained calm, brave, and courageous," Sgt. Katherine Evans with Gilmer County Fire Rescue said, recalling the moment they both met Riggs at a fire. "He was more concerned about just keeping us company. He was kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel at the end of the fire," she added.
A light Evans said was needed on a difficult call. "That was hard for our department; that was hard for the people that found the body, recovered it, transported it, and hard for the firefighters to put that fire out knowing that, you know, had we gotten there a few minutes sooner or had we gotten the call a few minutes sooner, you know, the whole story could have changed," Evans explained. "My house burned down three years ago, and so I know what that's like and how much it would have helped—well, it did help me, my dogs—but it would have helped me to have a dog that was trained as a service dog," Sharon Callan, a trainer with Paws Be Good 4 U, said. Callan is currently training Riggs.
The Source
FOX 5's Kim Leoffler spoke with Sgt. Katherine Evans with Gilmer County Fire Rescue for this article.
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