By Laura Bailey
Freshly baked treats, beautiful plant life and an abundance of smiles greeted Okee the Fire Dog during her visit to the Bristol Adult Resource Center (BARC).
“Okee’s ready to make some friends today,” said Chris Hayden. “Come say, ‘Hi’; she loves pets.”
Hayden, who played a key role in bringing Okee to the Bristol Fire Department, serves as her main handler. On weekends, the hard-working hound stays with Hayden and his family for some rest and relaxation.
“She likes coming home with me,” said Hayden. “On Saturdays, she gets a nice bath and manicure.”
Rescued and trained to be an emotional support dog by K9s for Warriors, Okee is the first fire peer support dog in the state.
More than a dozen community members at the Bristol Adult Resource Center took turns embracing Okee. The sweet-natured dog was presented with a basket of treats made onsite, as well as a fire hose dog toy.
“We made those treats right here in our dinning room,” said Mary Etter.
Etter has served as Executive Director of the Bristol Adult Resource Center for the past five years.
“We get about 70-80 people coming to this building a day,” said Etter. “I’ve been here 10 years and it’s honestly the best; I can’t imagine working anywhere else.”
Bristol Adult Resource Center is a non-profit group dedicated to providing services to, and improving the quality of life of, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the greater Bristol area.
Okee taste-tested one of the BARC treats made especially for her before giving enthusiastic approval. The 3-year-old Shepard-Hound mix became an official member of the Bristol Fire Department last week at her pinning ceremony.
“She just completed month one,” said Hayden, “and she’s adjusting pretty well. She just loves seeing people.”
Left: Okee with Bristol Fire Chief Richard Hart. | Laura Bailey
“She just completed month one,” said Hayden, “and she’s adjusting pretty well. She just loves seeing people.”
To learn more about Okee, follow “Okee the Fire Dog” on Facebook.
For more information on the Bristol Adult Resource Center, visit https://www.bristolarc.org/
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.
