Hometown Helpers: Law Enforcement Chaplain and comfort dog serve the community with trauma and crisis care
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IDAHO FALLS — Every week, EastIdahoNews.com is introducing you to Hometown Helpers in our community. We want to spotlight firefighters, police officers, city workers, snowplow drivers and others who quietly keep our cities and counties running.
This week, we are featuring Pam Inman and K9 Trixie. Inman is a law enforcement chaplain with the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Idaho, a non-profit organization trained in trauma and crisis care, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and available to anyone and everyone for free.
“We have approximately 30 chaplains,” said Inman.
K9 Trixie is her partner and is a comfort dog for the chaplaincy. She’s a six-year-old border collie Australian Shepherd mix.
“She’s really good at taking people’s mind off of what tragic event has happened, kind of give them a break, a minute to breathe, something else to think about, calming down the moment and helping people kind of collect themselves so they can move forward,” she said.
Inman explained when some people hear the word chaplain or chaplaincy, they think of religion.
“No one here is going to put their religious views or throw a bible at you or try to baptize anyone. We are here to help. That’s purely our purpose. Once people get past the word chaplain— it’s just a title, a term that happens to be what we are called. We’re here to help,” she said.
Inman and K9 Trixie work in Madison County, Bonneville County, and Rigby. They have gone as far as Swan Valley too.
“We play a good part in Rigby Middle School,” she said.
They visit kids at Rigby Middle School and help them out. They’ve been doing it ever since two students and a custodian were shot in May 2021. They were not killed.
“We go there twice a week and it’s to the point where people pretty much expect us to be there,” Inman said. “It’s a really nice feeling to know that we are a part of their family now and that we are able to help on a daily basis.”
K9 Trixie is loved by so many and she loves everyone back.
“Her heart and soul is so pure. It is an example for everybody of that unconditional love is and when she looks into your eyes with those little amber eyes, she just looks into your soul and says, ‘I love you.’ That’s amazing and everybody who meets her can see it,” Inman said.
Inman enjoys her job with K9 Trixie and is grateful to help.
“I’ve always had a heart of service. I joined the Air Force when I was 18 years old and then the sheriff’s department and now this. I just like helping people my goodness. My life has been very blessed and to have the opportunity to continue to give back to others is my purpose and it’s Trixie’s joy too,” she said.
Inman and Trixie show every day that they are Hometown Helpers by uplifting the community.
The Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Idaho has a 24 Hour Hot Line if you are in need of trauma and crisis help (208) 471-8111. Click here to visit their website.
Inman explained the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Idaho has community chaplains and fire chaplains too. Each chaplain goes through extensive training to comfort everyone in their unique times of hardship.
K9 Trixie has a Facebook page if you would like to follow her. Click here.
If you know a Hometown Helper that we should feature, please email andrea.olson@eastidahonews.com.
