Chaplains of Idaho add two new dogs as organization grows and responds to community needs
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IDAHO FALLS — Two new dogs are being added to a local nonprofit organization to help the community and first responders in times of need.
Chaplains of Idaho is made up of volunteers who serve first responders, the community and veterans. The group is trained in trauma and crisis care.
“We work 100% for free. The agencies do not pay for our services. We are highly trained. We…come in and assist them in a critical incident. We have become a resource that many have said that they just can’t imagine doing it without us now,” said Christa Trinchera, executive director for Chaplains of Idaho.
The nonprofit has three dogs that now help. Two of them are currently in training while one of the dogs, K9 Trixie, has been around since 2021.
K9 Trixie serves with law enforcement Chaplain Pam Inman. Trixie is a border collie Australian Shepherd mix. She often visits kids at Rigby Middle School and provides comfort. The two have been visiting since two students and a custodian were wounded in a shooting in 2021.
K9 Trixie is very popular and has a busy schedule going to dispatch centers and retirement homes.
“We were just finding that during those critical moments when we really needed a dog to do crisis intervention, Trixie was scheduled somewhere else,” said Trinchera. “I thought, well, I think we need a couple more dogs!”
Trinchera added E Suda, a now 11-week-old Rottweiler. E Suda is currently in training as a Crisis Intervention K9 for Chaplains of Idaho. Like Trixie, E Suda will be utilized to identify those that have strong emotions and to seek them out and provide comfort.
However, she will have a different role.
“She’s not scheduled to be at Rigby Middle School. She’s not scheduled to be at the retirement center. She is scheduled to be on-call essentially when those critical incidents happen. We have a dog to jump and go,” Trinchera said.
Trinchera wanted a Rottweiler after researching and talking with several trainers and a veterinarian. A Rottweiler was the right breed for the job.
“The personality of a Rottweiler is that they can be very specific in duties. They’re protective. I will take her with me when I go on a call in the middle of the night for protection. The breed also tends to be very loving and very sensitive to people’s emotions and very easily trainable,” she explained.
E Suda has been exposed to different departments already that she will work with. On Facebook, there are posts of the little dog being held by deputies at the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, and the Idaho Falls Communication Center.
“Part of E Suda’s training is taking her out and getting her comfortable in a variety of surroundings. So taking her to the police station, taking her to dispatch, and helping her get comfortable with all of the sights and sounds that she will encounter on a regular basis is important during these puppy years while she is in her training,” Trinchera said.
E Suda was able to go on her first call Tuesday while still in training.
“She was asked to come to dispatch after a critical call to help our dispatchers process (that) difficult call,” she said. “She knew her job. She identified the person in need and went right to them, and provided lots of love and kisses. We definitely left the individual in a better place than when we arrived.”
E Suda means my six, which Trinchera explained is a law enforcement term for having your back.
The other dog currently in training is Watson, who is an 8-month-old corgi. He is partnered with Chaplain Alyce Jeppesen.
“He will go through official therapy dog certification programming, and then he will be certified to do the same thing that Trixie does,” Trinchera said. “He is going through some group puppy training classes and socialization to get him comfortable before we start exposing him.”
The Chaplaincy is growing quickly and becoming a much-needed service. According to 2022 statistics from the nonprofit, Chaplains of Idaho responded to 122 calls for service and served 490.5 hours in the field on calls. The numbers do not include training, station visits, ride-along and events such as community festivals.
There will be 13 graduating new chaplains in February, making a total of 36 chaplains. With the amount of growth, Trinchera said she hopes to continue to add more dogs to the nonprofit.
“We now serve from West Yellowstone all the way down to Blackfoot. We serve 12 agencies. I would like to get some dogs both north and south of us to respond to critical incidents. I think that the canines are such a vital tool in what we do,” she said. “In situations like the Rigby school shooting, we only had Trixie at that time but had we had more dogs available to respond. We would have had as many dogs as we could have on scene because they just can help the kids find peace and calm in a way as we as adults can’t.”
Currently, E Suda is being trained by Idaho Elite K-9. The lead trainer has been a police K9 handler for the past seven years.
Chaplains of Idaho has a 24-hour hotline for support at (208) 471-8111.