Brooks: Rigsby the therapy puppy cheers Hennepin County first responders after rough summer

Rigsby is a 4-month-old English springer spaniel puppy, still growing into his own ears.

He has one job. To make bad days a little bit better for first responders in Hennepin County and neighboring communities.

Rigsby is very good at his job.

“He’s here to bring joy to some really tough days and to bring a little bit of comfort to our staff,” said Rigsby’s handler, Mary Welch, deputy chief of staff at the Hennepin Emergency Medical Services campus.

There have been a lot of tough days for Minnesota first responders recently. Mass shootings. A political assassination. A shooter who opened fire on children at prayer in a church.

Every call they answer could be from someone having a bad day, or the worst day, or the last day. It doesn’t matter how tough you are, or how well trained; all that grief and pain can wear you down. It can break your heart.

That’s where Rigsby comes in, tripping over his own feet, wagging his tail so hard his entire back end wriggles. He’s been on the job for two months and he’s still figuring things out, like whether his Therapy Dog badge is edible. (It is not, but not for lack of trying.)

Rigsby was trained by Soldier’s 6, a nonprofit that has provided more than 300 therapy dogs free of charge to veterans, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers and 911 dispatchers.

Mike Boehmer, head trainer for Soldier’s 6, and Tom Sweeny, who trained Rigsby, estimate that it costs about $12,000 to fully train a certified therapy dog — all covered by donations and fundraisers. They start with dogs, either from rescues or breeders, with the right temperament and spend months training them to bring out their natural instincts to make the world a happier place.

Dogs can sense a human in distress. They can smell the elevated cortisol levels, they can read the body language. Anyone who’s ever had a dog jump up on the couch and lean into you while you watch a sad movie knows this. A therapy dog just makes it a career.

“Rigsby, sit,” Welch instructed the puppy, who was alternating between mugging for the cameras and trying to eat random objects off the ground. Rigsby planted his butt on the ground and turned his freckled nose toward her, alert and calm. “Good sit.”