By Dolly A. Butz
Sioux City Journal
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — One of the newest members of Sioux City Fire Rescue brings a sense of calm to a high-stress environment with his fluffy blond, cloud-like coat and gentle demeanor.
Kooper James has been working as a certified first responder therapy dog for the city for a few months. The 3 1/2-year-old goldendoodle is based at Sioux City Fire Rescue Station 4, but he travels to fire stations around the city with his owner and handler, EMS Compliance Officer Mary Chwirka, providing comfort to firefighters and paramedics.
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“He’s perfect for therapy because he has real good mannerisms. He’s very calm, as you can see. He kind of just sits there and just lets people pet him,” Chwirka said.
On this Tuesday morning at Station 4, Kooper, wearing his official red first responder therapy dog vest, accepted ear and chin scratches from firefighter Ben Morehead before trotting over to paramedic Noah Stevens for a handshake and hug.
“Therapy dogs have actually been proven to reduce cortisol levels, and they actually increase the oxytocin of anybody that they encounter, which actually helps reduce stress, too. It lowers blood pressure, pulse rate, and anxiety,” Chwirka explained.
Stevens said Kooper seems to make things “a little bit better” and helps him “reset” on a bad day. Kooper is known to lean his 80-pound body into the first responders.
“I like dogs. I guess most people don’t go to work and have a dog there to pet,” Stevens said. “If Mary comes in without him, I’m like, ‘Where’s Kooper?’”
According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, firefighters, paramedics and EMTS repeatedly face the stresses of traumatic events throughout their careers, including the dangers of firefighting, violence and incidents involving children. These repeated exposures along with chronic sleep deprivation and a high call volume can lead to burnout and mental health issues.
Chwirka said first responders are “notorious for not asking for help” for themselves.
“They’re there to help everybody else when they’re answering the calls that come in for them on a day-to-day basis, and they’re the last ones to say that they need help too. This is a good bridge to actually try to help relieve some of those cortisol levels that they deal with on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “Suicide rates are climbing amongst first responders, so whatever we can do to help relieve some of that stress and make them come down to kind of a normal level again is going to be beneficial.”
‘He’s just friendly’
Chwirka likes to have dogs that have jobs.
Before getting Kooper when he was 5 1/2-months-old, she participated in urban search and rescue (USAR) with a black Labrador retriever-German shorthaired pointer mix.
“That was an extremely gifted dog and would climb ladders,” she said of the rescue dog from the Humane Society.
Kooper found his way to Chwirka via a veterans group, after he failed their program. He has “some little peculiar things” that wouldn’t have made him a good therapy dog for a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Chwirka.
However, Kooper is “a good fit” for first responder therapy and Chwirka’s current lifestyle.
“I’m older, so I’m not so good with climbing all over things with the USAR stuff anymore,” she said.
A local AKC trainer helped Chwirka get Kooper certified as a therapy dog with the national nonprofit First Responder Therapy Dogs. Besides the first responder therapy dog certification, Kooper’s red, yellow and black paw-printed business card lists him as being an AKC Good Citizen.
During the day, Kooper usually spends four to five hours at Sioux City fire stations. He pays no attention to the loud voices sounding over the intercom system. Chwirka said sirens don’t bother him, either. He’s even gone to the shooting range for desensitization.
“He just kind of makes the rounds and checks on everybody,” Chwirka said. “While he was in training, I also took him to meetings and things like that. He would just go to every individual and kind of just check on everybody. He’s just friendly.”
Kooper sat close to Morehead and panted lightly while receiving pets. Morehead said Kooper kind of reminds him of his dog.
“I think just something light and fun that comes around the station. We just love dogs,” he said.
At home, Kooper enjoys chewing on bully sticks and playing with balls of all kinds. Chwirka said he “gets the zoomies, just like any other dog.” He has his own Facebook page (kooper.60552) and Instagram account (k9_kooper_james).
“I’d like him to still be a dog, and he’s got to be able to relieve his own stress, too,” she said. “I have noticed that when he does come home, sometimes he just plops, because he is tired after making all the rounds.”
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