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'Comfort Dog' to join church's ministry team

St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Lombard will meet its new Comfort Dog for the first time during the weekend of Dec. 5 at "Passing of the Leash" ceremonies.

During the ceremonies, staff members from Lutheran Church Charities officially will turn the dog over to St. John's pastors. The ceremonies will mark the beginning of a Comfort Dog ministry in Lombard.

Lutheran Church Charities has placed trained service dogs in roughly 72 churches and schools in 21 states. The golden retrievers are trained and prepared to touch people with compassion and mercy.

In addition to serving their own communities, LCC Comfort Dogs have been deployed nationally in times of crisis to places such as Boston after the marathon bombings; Washington, Illinois, after the tornadoes; and, most recently, Umpqua Community College after shootings in Oregon.

Lutheran Church Charities will provide extensive training to caregivers and handlers from St. John's. This special K-9 will serve Lombard and the surrounding communities by making school and hospital visits, as well as being available in times of crisis.

For details, visit www.stjohnslombard.org.

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