There’s a comfort in being with a dog — rubbing its ears as his cold nose nudges you for more. It’s calming, and that’s the point.
After divers, firefighters and investigators worked for days to recover the bodies of all 67 victims of the Potomac crash in January, first responders are now dealing with an unimaginable emotional toll.
Now, D.C. Fire and EMS, with the help of one special member, is providing comfort for those who rushed in to help on that fateful night. His name is Brew. He is 2 and a card-carrying member of D.C. Fire and EMS.
“His only job is to be pet,” said Captain Sharon Moulton with D.C. Fire and EMS. “He loves to just sit on people, hug them and that's what he did, especially to the forensic team.”
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On the Friday after the crash, Moulton took Brew down to the temporary morgue, where she knew he would be needed.
“The actual connection with the forensic investigator is probably my most special one,” Moulton said.
Lalyn Kurash, an investigator with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, was assisting in identifying the bodies.
“She texted me just yesterday and said, you know, without Brew there, she didn’t know if she really could finish her job,” Moulton said.
There was a reason she wanted the photo taken:
“Because as [the first responders’] family members were worried about them, the pictures were very comforting to them to show that they could send them something that they were okay, they had a dog with them and the dog was making them feel better.”
For Moulton, peer support is part of her job, and she’s taking Brew wherever he’s needed — a job she will be doing Sunday at Legacy on Ice, where first responders and families of the 67 people killed can all grieve together. Part of the proceeds from the event will be shared with the D.C. Fire and EMS Foundation.
“These responders are at a greater risk of cardiac and cancer issues anyway, and so when you’re dealing with a scene that is that hazardous that has a lot of jet fuel that they were swimming around in, you know we don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” said Amy Mauro with the D.C. Fire and EMS Foundation. “But I always say that they are always there for us at a moment’s notice, and so the foundation is there for them”.
Moulton said she hopes Brew can bring comfort this Sunday — even the smallest amount — to anyone grieving the terrible tragedy on the Potomac.
