On Monday 23 April, a van plowed into innocent victims walking along the public streets in Toronto, Canada, killing 10 people and injuring another 14 people. Volunteers with the St John Ambulance Canada Therapy Dogs Programme provided comfort to the people around Mel Lastman Square on the following Thursday.
Many people said the dogs helped them with the grieving process. The 20 therapy dogs in the square helped heal the shock of what happened by offering a distraction.
Jason Colterman, community service manager for St John Ambulance in Toronto, said:
(We hope to) put some smiles on some people’s faces, relieve some stress and give them something nice to do on their lunch hour to end this week. The dogs give unconditional love. They don’t care if you’re male, female, big, small, wearing designer clothes or not … If you’re willing to give them attention, they’ll give you all the love in the world and do everything they can to make you feel better.
