OCONOMOWOC, Wis.— A Wisconsin fire department is changing the way it looks at mental health for its first responders and surrounding community.

The Western Lakes fire district is implementing therapy dogs as a part of mental health for their team members and the community.

You may think of a Dalmatian when you think of a dog at a fire station, but when you walk inside one of the many stations for the Western Lakes fire district you will see either a furry black lab or a playful Boxer pup. They are two of the newest members of the department.

Tesla, the black lab, and Bear, the Boxer, hit all four paws running about three weeks ago. Their primary job is to be a therapy dog.

“We can see our employees are happy we know that they ask for our dogs to be around and if we see that happening we know we are on to something pretty good,” Western Lakes fire district, assistant chief Matthew Haerter says.

Haerter is Tesla’s handler. He gets to see first hand the comfort and joy she brings to everyone each day.

“We often are exposed to things on a daily basis that many people never see in their entire life,” Haerter says.

He says this can cause different forms of trauma, stress and potentially even lead to deaths by suicide in the fire service.

“All of us, unfortunately, are exposed to the fact that we know more of us die by suicide than doing the job each year,” Haerter says.

This is why the department decided it was so important to implement Tesla and Bear into the department to provide support, love, cuddles and plenty of playtime.

“After a really bad call... [the dogs] can turn the day from a really somber day to at least taking that edge off and being there for them,” Western Lakes fire district chief Brad Bowen says.

A normal day for the dogs includes navigating their way through offices and crew quarters to see what everyone is doing. 

Once she finds someone new, Tesla will sit at their feet and nuzzle her way in-between their legs and rest her head on their lap for petting to begin. Her job is to provide a pick me up, and boy is she good at what she does.

The dogs will soon be used in senior living facilities and on calls for those who are going through a hard time after a house fire or traumatic incident. The department says once things slow down with COVID-19 they will be able to bring the dogs out into the community more.

This article mentions information about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for free, confidential support at 1-800-273-8255, or text HOPELINE to 741741.