Eleven golden retrievers headed to Florida.

CHR Comment: The Comfort Dogs are turning into a popular and widespread service. The article explains that the dogs are trained and supported through Lutheran Church Charities, a service organization of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I’m grateful to see the Huffington Post share the story of the Comfort Dogs and information about the faith-based organization that supports them.

Ironically, I heard a local radio station report about the Comfort Dogs this week. The radio report said nothing about the faith-based nature of the charity and their work. I find that news reports that might positively mention the role of religion in public life often do not do so. In contrast, when religious persons act badly (as the shooter did in this case), the person’s religion seems to get more attention. Perhaps this is because religious persons in general do not act in these extremely violent ways so that the examples of bad behavior seem more exceptional and therefore more newsworthy. (If a religious person consoles someone, that is no surprise. But if a religious person kills someone, that is shocking and makes the news.) In any event, this was indeed a good news story.

Source: Comfort Dogs Provide Emotional Support After Orlando Shooting