08/28/2026
We have station visitors that come see us and the overall welcoming of our four legged friends is very much recognized among all shifts. To have one in house would be amazing for all of us.
๐พ๐ BRING FIRE STATION DOGS BACK.
A fire station dog is more than a mascot. More than a tradition. And more than just another set of paws walking around the station.
For firefighters and EMS personnel, the station is a second home and sometimes the place where we return immediately after experiencing someone elseโs worst day.
We see tragedy. We see death. We see injured children. We experience violence, loss, and situations that most people will never encounter. Then we clear the call, put the apparatus back in service, and wait for the tones to drop again.
That cumulative exposure matters. The IAFF recognizes that potentially traumatic incidents and the everyday stresses of the profession can have a cumulative effect on firefightersโ mental health and well-being. Thatโs one reason peer-support programs have become such an important part of the modern fire service.
A properly trained peer-support or facility dog can become another tool in that toolbox.
And there is research behind it.
๐ A randomized controlled trial involving 122 emergency physicians and nurses found preliminary evidence that just five minutes with a therapy dog during a shift reduced provider stress. (PubMedโ ๏ฟผ)
๐ A 2025 study examining a facility dog in a high-stress workplace found participants reported an average 19% reduction in stress after interacting with the dog. Researchers also identified benefits including decreased group tension, improved communication, team cohesion, connection between coworkers, and improved job effectiveness. (OUP Academicโ ๏ฟผ)
๐ Research involving veterans and first-aid responders with PTSD found those partnered with service dogs reported fewer PTSD-related symptoms, better sleep quality, and better overall well-being than participants with companion dogs. (PubMed Central (PMC)โ ๏ฟผ)
๐ Another study involving emergency-service personnel and veterans found significant improvements in PTSD, stress, anxiety and other mental-health measures after participants received trained assistance dogs, with improvements persisting through follow-up. (PubMedโ ๏ฟผ)
We are also seeing this happen inside the fire service. The IAFF has documented therapy and facility dogs supporting firefighters following line-of-duty deaths and traumatic incidents. Firefighters have described members who were previously closed off beginning to open up simply because a dog was present.
Thatโs important.
Sometimes a firefighter isnโt ready to walk into an office and say, โIโm struggling.โ
But they might sit down next to the station dog.
They might scratch behind its ears.
Someone else sits down.
A conversation starts.
And sometimes that conversation is the beginning of getting help.
A peer-support dog doesnโt replace professional behavioral healthcare, counseling, EAP services, chaplains, or trained peer-support members.
It complements them.
The fire service spends millions of dollars protecting our bodies. We buy better turnout gear, better SCBAs, better apparatus, better cancer-prevention equipment and better technology.
We should be just as willing to invest in protecting the people underneath that gear.
There was a time when dogs were synonymous with the American firehouse.
Maybe itโs time we bring them backโnot simply because theyโre part of our history, but because weโre learning they may have an important place in the future of firefighter wellness.
๐พ BRING FIRE STATION DOGS BACK. ๐
Take care of the people who take care of everyone else.
