Thousands of troops remain in Washington, D.C., to address heightened security concerns following last week's presidential inauguration.
On Friday, a group of National Guard troops departing the city got a furry farewell from a dozen therapy dogs as a thank-you for all their hard work protecting the city and its residents.
Since Jan. 18, the Hamilton Hotel — located in Washington only a few blocks south of the White House — has housed over 250 National Guard troops who were flown in ahead of the Biden-Harris inauguration. Most were members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, 2,400 of whom were deployed for the inaugural ceremonies.
When the troops’ stay came to an end on Friday, Jan. 29, hotel staff decided to bring in a "two paw salute" to honor their hard work. Partnering with local nonprofit People Animals Love (PAL), troops were greeted by 12 therapy dogs around the hotel lobby who offered up kisses and puppy love galore.
PAL is not a rescue organization, but rather a group of 500-plus individually-owned dogs (and a few cats) that coordinates what it calls the "human-animal connection" with in-person meet-and-greets between humans and pets. While the group has pivoted to mostly virtual interactions in light of the pandemic, PAL typically hosts events at locations ranging from care facilities, to libraries and schools, and beyond.
Friday’s event marked one of the organization’s first in-person gatherings during the pandemic, and it was certainly a hit with the service men and women.
The dogs at the Hamilton Hotel’s event came in all shapes and sizes, but one certain fan-favorite appeared to be a little pint-sized pooch named Crusty.
"Can I take them home with me?” one troop could be heard asking.
"I can’t think of a better way to start my morning,” said another.
"This was such a great idea," said another. "I haven’t seen some of these guys smile like this in weeks."
And for the hosts, seeing the smiling faces of service men and women was a truly rewarding experience.
“This was a small token of the hotel's appreciation for everything the National Guard has done for our city,” Joe Palminteri, Food & Beverage Director at Hamilton Hotel, told Spectrum News in a statement. “Seeing hardened military men and women roll around on the ground with these amazing dogs, as if no one is watching, truly fills our souls with happiness and gratitude. It was only an hour, but the smiles and warm embraces that I witnessed will last a lifetime.”
It’s no surprise that the hard-working National Guard troops were grateful to relax with some furry friends for a few hours.
Nearly 26,000 Guard troops deployed to D.C. for the Jan. 20 inauguration after officials voiced concern over heightened threats of violence following the violent insurrection on Capitol Hill in early January. Since last Thursday, The National Guard Bureau has worked with states to send a majority of troops home, slimming the presence to about 7,000 members with plans to draw that number down to about 5,000 by late February.
Those departing from the Hamilton Hotel are likely to be replaced with a new mission of approximately 450 Pennsylvania Guard troops in the coming days, and will “continue to return home through the end of January with the new mission commencing on or around Feb. 1,” per a statement.