FREMONT, Neb (KMTV) — Back in 2015 Dawn Gilfry made her way to Northbrook, Illinois.
She was on her way to meet a golden retriever named Katie and Katie was so much more than your average dog.
“We trained for about three days, we learn how to handle the dog and learn how to handle the people once we go out,” said Gilfry, the lead handler for Katie Comfort Dog.
Katie Comfort Dog came up in the Lutheran Church Charities' Comfort Dog Ministry.
These specially trained pups, placed permanently in churches, schools and other ministries, head across the country in times of crisis to provide the kind of love and care that only comes from man’s best friend.
“She just knew what to do. She would lay there are as long as you needed. That was calming to someone and sometimes she would gravitate to someone we didn’t even know needed it,” said Gilfry.
Whenever LCC would put out the call for help, Katie and her team of handlers would answer.
“It really brings you out of your comfort zone and have more confidence in sharing your faith, and sharing the love that the dogs have and that we have for other people,” said Jo-Anne Johnson, one of Katie Comfort Dog’s handlers.
Katie was in Orlando comforting the victims of the Pulse Night Club shooting in 2016, in Vegas after the mass shooting in 2017, Parkland at Stonemason-Douglas high school in 2018, Uvalde in 2022 and Perry, Iowa in 2024 among many other stops.
Dawn keeps memories of many of the stops on her lanyard, filled with buttons and pins commemorating the communities that Katie served.
“We keep these on here so that we can keep those in our thoughts and prayers that we have met along the way,” said Gilfry.
This past Saturday, Katie’s service came to an end.
She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving caregivers.
“It’s like losing a colleague. Some of these people don’t do other things outside of working with Katie. Their identity just came to a stop,” said Gilfry.
The passing of Katie has come with an outpouring of support for her and her team.
A Facebook post sharing her passing brought hundreds of comments with many sharing their stories of when Katie comforted them in their time of need.
And across Fremont, Katie’s impact is impossible to ignore.
“With Katie all I can say is wow,” said Captain Kurt Bottorf with the Fremont Police Department.
“I am a sole believer in it, I have two kids who are teachers who have comfort dogs in the school and I have seen them work their magic. Katie is gonna be missed,” said Bottorf.
For Dawn and Katie’s team her passing hasn’t been easy but what has helped them through these tough times are the memories of their service with Katie and her dedication to bringing happiness and comfort to everyone she met.
“I am very grateful that I have been allowed to go to those places and serve with her to bring that light,” said Gilfry.
Katie's legacy of service will live on in Fremont. Her partner at Trinity Lutheran Church Phineas Comfort Dog is carrying on her mission of bringing light to those who are going through their darkest days.
He has big paws to fill but he learned from the best.
