Cover Story

Retrievers To The Rescue

Brinkley gazes into the sky.

By Ann Marie Quill; photos by Marcy J. Levinson

One look into Brinkley's big, brown, soulful eyes and you automatically know he has seen a lot.

Deborah and Bill Hatherly with their dogs.

From comforting firefighters battling the South Georgia blazes and New Orleans residents dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to visiting Virginia Tech students grieving over the loss of fellow classmates after the campus massacre, he may be certified to respond to those in crisis, but, according to his owners, there's always been something special about the 3-year-old golden retriever.

Maybe that "something special" was inherited — his mother could detect seizures about to occur in epileptic people. Brinkley, it seems, possesses a sixth sense, too. Owners Bill and Deborah Hatherly would take him to the Jewish Home in Richmond, Va., the town from which they recently moved to Atlanta, to visit a friend, and they noticed he would seek out people who most needed comforting, such as one man who had not been responsive to anyone but "latched on to Brinkley. We would later go back in the home and Brinkley would find him," Deborah says.

Recognizing Brinkley's ability, the Hatherlys eventually had him certified — at age 1 — as a Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response dog. The Red Cross often calls upon Hope AACR dogs and their owners, who have also been trained, to deal with victims in the aftermath of tragedies.

When they traveled to Blacksburg in the wake of the Virginia Tech killings, Brinkley did his thing. Though students were becoming skittish with all the media circling around them, "they would still come over to the dog," Deborah says, and talk about their dogs at home. During a memorial ceremony, Brinkley sought out a woman standing by herself and "just stood right next to her." The Hatherlys also felt it was important to visit the building that houses the Hillel, the JCC and a synagogue, letting Brinkley spend time with children in therapy discussion groups.

Another favorite story the Hatherlys like to tell is how Brinkley was visiting the pediatric unit of a hospital, and they had been asked not to let him near a child who was hospitalized after being attacked by another dog. "We were getting ready to leave, and her father came out and asked if Brinkley could visit her," Deborah says. "We told Brinkley to lay down, and he did not move. The little girl squatted down, pulling his ears, opening his mouth. He did not budge. Her father was crying."

Bill adds, "Her hand was in his mouth, and you could tell she was reprocessing the experience" and regaining her trust in dogs.

Brinkley is also a role model for the Hatherlys' younger dog, Tikva (Hebrew for "Hope"). She is scheduled to be certified as a Hope AACR dog this year, and she's already visiting hospitals.

The Hatherlys are also members of Happy Tails Pet Therapy, a local group that takes pets to hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities.

"We believe our work is a mitzvah and that every time any of us as Jews do a mitzvah, a bit of good goes to heaven and goodness is returned to this world to make it a better place for everyone," Bill says.

For more information about Hope AACR or to make a donation, e-mail WASL.BH@comcast.net or visit www.hopeaacr.org.