His answer:

"A gift from God to people who need help"

The K-9 presentation was on the use of Comfort Dogs responding to Newtown, CT and more recently, Boston and Texas.

About 26 people attended the presentation; they asked great questions about the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. The group was also interested in the use of K-9 Comfort Dogs in the courts.

I would like to thank Dr. Stapleton and her staff at the Barrington Animal Hospital for the wonderful care when I had surgery. You should have seen me wearing a blue hood with a ruffle so I could not lick my stitches.

This week we went to Chapel and visited with students at Trinity Lutheran in Roselle. On the way home, we stopped at Friendship Village to visit with three resident. They are members of Immanuel Lutheran in Palatine.

Jaimie, one of the Boston Marathon runners, opened up that the dogs helped her get out of her house following the traumatic experience on Monday, speaking about K-9 Comfort Dog Ruthie:

"She's so sweet... This is the first time I've been out of my house. You know when you just need comfort and you hear that someone is here, people have just been so kind."

And Logan, a local Bostonian after spending time with the K-9 Comfort Dogs:

"It's been very tough for the people that were intimately affected by it [Boston Marathon bombings] and I think for anyone that lives by here, works near here, maybe it's a different level of being affected but it feels like someone violated your home. And so I think we are all eager to get back to feeling safe."

Melissa, an environmental photographer/filmmaker, came to First Lutheran Church to take pictures of the dogs and write her blog. Little did she know that she would receive some comfort herself through her interaction with the dogs, handlers and a complete stranger. Read more of her story on her blog by clicking here

Rich Martin, Co-Director of the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry, recaps the week,

"Wow! Seven 14 hour days never went so fast, never had so many emotions, and never encountered hundreds of thousands of people's emotions. So many other stories to share from the church, the street, the hotel, and the hospitals. Pastor Dutzmann is a very special man. Blessed to be with him!"

The team spent a lot of their time working at First Lutheran Church of Boston, where the staff and Pastor Ingo Dutzmann played an instrumental role in the work God did through the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. Words cannot express the team's gratitude for all their help. The team met with and had opportunities to bring comfort to people in need; runners, marathon volunteers, and local students.

Three marathon volunteers who were working the first aid tent for injured marathon runners experienced much more than they had expected when victims of the bombing were brought to their tent. They came to First Lutheran Church of Boston to spend time with the Comfort Dogs, returning again later that night for more comfort.

The Wednesday Night Runners Club of Boston, most of which were marathoners from Monday's race, came by for a place they could all gather, talk through the events of the week, and digest their emotions, thoughts and feelings together as a group with the K-9 Comfort dogs. LCC saw a need and were able to provide pizza for the whole group allowing them to continue their healing/grieving process with the Comfort Dogs for a little bit longer.

A group of students, who were emotionally worked up after the bombings, could not get themselves to go to the memorial. Members of the LCC team offered to go with them and bring the Comfort Dogs. The students were able to approach the memorial to pay their respects with the emotional support of the Comfort Dogs and their handlers.

Wherever the K-9 Comfort Dog team went they really helped provide a respite area, a place to step away from the fear and sadness, and work through the healing process individually or in groups.

LCC Deploys Comfort Dogs to Waco, TX for Victims of this Week's Explosion

On Monday, April 22, the team went to the West, Texas Middle/Elementary School. In the blast the Intermediate school was destroyed and the High School was badly damaged. Volunteers helped construct three new classrooms at the elementary school to bring in an additional 300 students.

While at the school, LCC volunteer handler and Lockport, IL Fire Department Chaplain, Rev. Mark Hein from St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Lockport, IL, and K-9 Comfort Dog Samuel had a special connection with a little boy who lost a family member in the explosion.

Later that afternoon the team visited Baylor University in Waco, Texas. There they met and brought comfort to many students who loved the dogs.

"I found out that professional counselors were working with a second grader who survived the explosion but lost at least one family member in the tragedy. Samuel and I went to see him. When we got there, he was playing with LEGOs. He had made his home that had been destroyed and also a fire truck from the building blocks. I asked him if Samuel and I could sit with him for a little while. He politely said yes and started petting Samuel. He had been answering the counselors questions in short sentences. But the more time he spent with Samuel, the more he started talking with me and the counselor was amazed the connection that this little boy had to Samuel. They asked if I could come back and work with the little boy some more while we are here and we will certainly do that."

Later that afternoon the team visited Baylor University in Waco, Texas. There they met and brought comfort to many students who loved the dogs.

A Thank You from LCC President Tim Hetzner:

THANK YOU TO ALL who make this possible - Being out in West, Texas, in the school and in the town, and all over Waco, confirms the need to be here to share the Mercy and Compassion of Jesus Christ with people who are in one way or another affected by the recent explosion. The Presence of Jesus Christ through his people and through his creation (Comfort Dogs) brings healing. Thank you to all who make this possible and who are an extension of the feet and arms and presence of Jesus Christ.

We ask for help:

• Prayers for all affected by the fertilizer plant explosion
• Support for travel expenses of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. We never charge those we serve and rely on other donors to help us bring the Presence of Christ to those suffering.

LCC will be deploying six K-9 Comfort Dogs and eight handlers. Coming from Chicago are Tim Hetzner, President of LCC, Rev. Mark Hein (pictured above) and his wife Donna with K-9 Comfort Dog Samuel, LCC staff dog trainer Jeanne Moore with K-9 Comfort Dogs Susie and Lila, and Kristen Stapleton with K-9 Comfort Dog Rachel. Rev. Hein is a Fire Chaplain for the Lockport Fire Department and is trained in critical incident stress debriefing. Shawn and Nancy Harders (pictured) and K-9 Comfort Dog Moses from Cairo, Nebraska are also coming, as well as Rev. Tim Engel and K-9 Comfort Dog Barnabas from Portage, Indiana. Rev. Engel is a Chaplain for the Fire Department in Portage.

The group will be leaving the LCC Offices in Addison Illinois at 3AM Sunday morning and flying by private plane out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 5AM (donated for the cost of fuel!)

Ways to Help

• Please keep all in your prayers - first responders, families of first responders that have lost loved ones, other survivors suffering loss from the explosion
• Help support travel expenses - Click here

Four of the five K-9 Comfort Dogs, Luther, Ruthie, Maggie and Addie were invited to Fenway Bark for free grooming and relaxation after days of bringing comfort to the people of Boston. What a treat it was, thank you to everyone at Fenway Bark for their kindness!

Click here to see pictures from the trip to Boston.
Click here to see see Wednesday, April 17's NBC Nightly News coverage of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog team in Boston and the Today.com article written about them. Click here if you would like to help financially cover travel expenses to Boston A special thank you to Lutheran Disaster Response for their assistance in helping with a portion of our travel expenses.