With wildfires ravaging California once again, stress levels are at an all-time high among first responders in the area. This includes the firefighters battling blazes in Marin County in Northern California.

Luckily, they have an ally on their side to provide them comfort.

Kerith the golden retriever

Meet Kerith, a two-year-old golden retriever therapy dog who makes daily visits to the base camp close to Point Reyes, California. She works to try and put a smile on the faces of the firefighters as they battle the fires in the area. She does this by providing hugs to firefighters in between shifts.

Kerith loves to do her job

A licensed therapy dog, Kerith has no clue about what is going on in the world; she just wants to spread love and joy where she can.

“She doesn’t know there is a fire. She doesn’t know there is COVID. So, she just knew she was seeing her friends and was really happy to do so. For the firefighters, I think it really made their day,” Kerith’s owner, Heidi Carmen told SFGate.

Starting a GoFundMe page

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Carmen feels that Kerith is performing important work in Marin County, where she has been for about a year. So she has started a GoFundMe page to allow the lovable dog to continue her work. The money raised from GoFundMe will be used to pay for Kerith’s transportation costs, as well as her time with the firefighters.

Providing some much-needed comfort

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“Day after day, firefighters and other first responders risk their lives for people they have never met. In one 24-hour shift, this population may be exposed to any number of traumatic events, from wildfires they can’t control to patients they can’t save,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“Enter Team Kerith, the Golden Retriever,” the description continues. “She provides unconditional love and instant stress relief to first responders. She forms bonds with the firefighters by simply being herself: She greets with playful wiggles, adoring eye contact, and makes each person she meets feel important, special, and loved. The experience that Kerith can provide can be invaluable to individuals suffering from PTSD symptomology.”

How therapy dogs help

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The physical benefits from Kerith’s interactions with the firefighters include the release of hormones they get from hugging and petting her. These hormones help elevate their mood and relieve any anxiety they might feel from all of their hard work battling the wildfires.

“There are many unknowns since the nature of a first responder’s job is unpredictable,” Carmen wrote on the GoFundMe page, “but knowing Kerith will be there to greet them at the end of the day with a wagging tail and a smile is not one of them.”

You can follow Kerith and her important work to help the first responders battling the wildfires in Marin County on her Instagram page. Watch the video below for more on this loving and friendly golden retriever.

Source: KPIX CBS SF Bay Area

H/T: People, KPIX CBS 5, SFGate