CAMBRIDGE, Ohio — The Cambridge Fire Department has a brand new, four-footed member after adopting a canine from the Guernsey County Animal Shelter.
Fire Chief Jeff Deeks mentioned the canine, named Halli after a forcible entry instrument utilized by firefighters often called a Halligan bar, has a brand new home for Christmas, and she’s going to formally develop into a part of the division this December.
“She’s actually getting ‘sworn in’ Dec. 12 for the fire department,” Deeks mentioned, including {that a} new firefighter may even be sworn in and different actions selling the fireplace division are set at metropolis corridor.
He mentioned he hesitated to carry a pet into the fireplace station and checked on potential legal responsibility points. The canine joined the firefighter household about three weeks in the past.
“I wish I would have done it sooner now,” Deeks mentioned.
This marks the primary time the division has had a station canine because it was organized in 1873.
Deeks mentioned the division labored with county Dog Warden Karla Kerns, who saved an eye fixed out for dogs with a persona that may match the division’s ambiance.
“She found the dog that we have now. It was actually living in a culvert. We’re assuming she was just dropped off and left,” Deeks mentioned. “They contacted me and sent pictures, and we discussed it within the department.”
The canine is a German shepherd combine estimated to be about 7 months old.
Deeks mentioned Halli is becoming in properly.
“She’s really changed the atmosphere around the department and even within the community. The residents hear about it on social media, and we invited people to come up so we can introduce Halli to them,” he mentioned. “She’s been wonderful for us.”
He added {that a} canine with a pleasant persona is required for his or her atmosphere.
“We get kids on tours and citizens stopping by. You want to make sure you have a good dog. She’ll hear the door open and she’ll go look down the hallway and she’ll go up to them and lay right at their feet,” Deeks mentioned of any station guests.
“When we get some more time with her and get more of what her personality’s going to be like around kids, we’ll introduce her more and more,” he mentioned. “The guys that work here, their kids come up.”
Deeks mentioned Halli just isn’t a remedy canine, however he’s exploring the potential for getting her educated for that goal sooner or later.
“Animals can help with stressful environments. When you come back from a bad call just to see her,” he mentioned. “There’s been times when I’ve been having my days and she comes right inside my office, sits down by my chair and puts her head in my lap.”
He mentioned the psychological advantages of getting a canine motivated division members to look into having a canine.
“The mental aspect of being a firefighter and some of the stuff that all firefighters see in their career or volunteering, sometimes it gets to you, and having a dog … getting back from those bad calls and having a dog or a pet, I think it does help with the mental aspect of things. … We cover Interstate 70 and 77 and several state routes and we have a lot of traffic come through Cambridge and those routes. We get some pretty horrific accidents sometimes. … Even though she’s not trained to be a therapy dog, I think it does help the staff deal with the mental issues.”
Deeks mentioned Halli additionally bought an introduction to the general public when using with him in the course of the recent metropolis Christmas parade.
Kerns, who additionally serves as a corporal with the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office, mentioned this was additionally alternative to advertise the animal shelter.
“I knew that the fire department was in the search for a dog that matched with them to be able to stay at the station with them,” she mentioned, including that she noticed Halli as a possible match for the fireplace division. “We just knew she was the right fit for them.”
Kerns mentioned there are various animals on the shelter hoping for brand spanking new houses.
“We’re probably down in adoptions from what we normally have been, but the time of year sometimes puts us like that,” she mentioned.
Kerns added that she is advocating for a brand new canine shelter, noting the present one was bought in 1950 and had been a lumber yard previous to being repurposed. She mentioned upkeep calls for have overtaken the power to fulfill them. There are 14 kennels in the primary shelter and homes 25-30 dogs at any given day. More data might be discovered on the Guernsey County Dog Shelter’s Facebook web page or on Youtube.
