To improve staff morale and help dogs find their forever homes, Winnipeg fire and paramedic stations are now welcoming four-legged companions. With the help of Station Doggie Dates, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service employees can keep an adoptable dog in their station for the duration of a shift.
When crews return from a challenging call, according to Tim Arbuckle, captain of WFPS Station 9, having Murphy the dog around lately has helped reduce stress in the workplace. “It’s awesome,”Arbuckle remarked. “I’ve witnessed it first-hand just coming back from a call definitely guys are looking for Murphy and Murphy is looking for them too.”
According to Leland Gordon, the program expands upon an existing initiative of the city’s Animal Services Agency that enables Winnipeggers considering adoption to take a dog for a walk for a day, a weekend, or even a week. The initiative, according to the general manager of city Animal Services, has been publicly unveiled only this past Wednesday after nearly a month of testing at Station 9.
According to Gordon, two other stations have already contacted Animal Services to request the use of dogs in their facilities. “It’s a win-win because nobody likes dogs sitting in kennels and an animal shelter,” Gordon stated.
“Murphy has been very spoiled at this station: he’s gone home overnight with firefighters and paramedics, he actually went to a very fancy cabin on an island this weekend.”
The program developed as a result of an awareness of the difficulties that fire paramedics encounter on the job. “It’s a hard job that they have here and we know that there are lots of terrible calls that they go on,” he uttered. “We thought … how amazing would it be to come back after one of those calls and have a dog to snuggle with?”
Gordon’s sentiments were mirrored by WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt. Since Murphy arrived, he has spent a few evenings at Station 9, and it is obvious that it has affected the staff and the dogs. “I’ve already had a number of staff reach out directly to me in writing to express their appreciation,” he added. “As a leader that’s great feedback.”
According to Schmidt, another fantastic aspect of Station Doggie Dates is how it will raise awareness of the city’s adoption program. For over three weeks, Murphy has been residing at Station 9 on Marion Street. Although he feels at ease there, for now, adoption is still the ultimate aim. “Not sure we want to see Murphy go,” Arbuckle said. “He’ll be hard to replace.”
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