Comfort dogs help Michigan State students cope after shooting

(Reuters) — One day after a gunman killed three Michigan State University students and wounded five others before taking his own life, students on campus found themselves being comforted by several cute, furry, four-legged friends in order to cope with the tragedy.

“We never know coming in what to expect but we do know what we can bring to the students and faculty staff in this situation,” said Nancy Borders, a volunteer comfort dog handler with Lutheran Church Charities.

Borders and others brought four golden retrievers to East Lansing, Michigan, on Tuesday as a resource for anyone impacted by the mass shooting.

”For us, it’s very rewarding that they can they can release that stress with our dogs,” Borders said.

Borders said the Lutheran Church has trained about 130 dogs to provide comfort during times of distress.

All of the dogs on hand in East Lansing have been dispatched in the days following other tragic school shootings.

“It’s very sad to me … that so much of this is happening. I don’t understand it and I don’t know what it’ll take to stop it but we’re willing to be there whenever needed,” Borders said.

The gunman, Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, had a history of mental illness and carried a note in his pocket indicating a threat to two New Jersey schools, police said Monday.

McRae, who lived in the adjacent city of Lansing, the state capital, had no known affiliation to the university or associations to any of his victims, MSU police have said.