On Oct. 3, 10 members of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Federal Way, Washington, traveled to Illinois and returned with a golden retriever. Though simple on paper, it was the culmination of a two-year process — forming a Comfort Dog Team, raising funds, and completing rigorous training.
Pastor Dan Weber had learned about the K-9 Comfort Dog program through Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) and encouraged St. Luke’s to explore the opportunity. I, Stephanie Pariseau, have a close friend who is the caregiver for Comfort Dog Isaac in Spokane. After hearing stories for years of the impact Isaac has made, I knew I wanted to be part of this ministry. I attended our interest meeting intending to join the team, and learned that for our church to move forward, we needed a “Top Dog” to lead. The meeting took place three months after my husband Doug had passed from glioblastoma. After 34 years of teaching at Concordia Christian Academy in Tacoma, I had stepped away to care for him and had decided not to return to the classroom. My life had changed dramatically in a short time. Leading a comfort dog ministry became the calling that helped me find a new way to serve Christ. The following Sunday, I volunteered to be our Top Dog.
My first major task was completing paperwork and writing a proposal for the Northwest District Catalyst Grant. We were overjoyed to learn that we had been selected for the 2024 grant, allowing us to proceed without facing the heavy burden of raising a large sum of money upfront. Looking back, I cannot imagine where we would be today without that support.
I attended Top Dog training at LCC in early 2024. Upon returning home, I began forming our team. When the team was ready, I interviewed prospective handlers and visited the homes of those interested in being caregivers to ensure a safe environment for our future dog. In May, all 10 team members completed a Zoom interview with the director of the LCC canine division. They were approved, and our team was officially complete. Then began the waiting.
After almost two years of prayer, planning, and preparation, I finally received the call that our dog was ready. We scrambled with joy to prepare for her arrival in November 2025. We coordinated travel plans, launched fundraisers, and held a “dog shower.” Our congregation purchased many items from our Amazon registry, and we prepared two caregiver homes with kennels, mats, collars, and more. By late September, we were ready and on our way to Chicago.
We knew five dogs were ready for placement that fall, but we did not know which one would be ours. When we arrived at the training center, four trainers greeted us, but still no one revealed our dog. After introductions and prayer, the LCC K-9 director asked us to look up Isaiah 35:2. As we wrote it in our journals, we knew — this was the verse for Sharon. We had studied the verses associated with each of the five dogs, and this one signaled renewal and hope, like the blooming of the plains of Sharon. Christ brings that same renewal to His people.
After our first full day of training, we took Sharon back to our hotel. As I walked her while the caregivers ate dinner, a woman stopped us. She noticed Sharon’s vest and asked to pet her. After hearing her story—that she was from South Carolina and staying in the hotel while her daughter recovered from major surgery—I asked if we could pray for her. She was surprised and grateful. After praying, she confided that her daughter had left the faith and that she was deeply encouraged by our kindness. Without Sharon, she would have simply passed by. The ministry of presence is powerful.
The comfort dog ministry embodies that presence. LCC’s mission is to bring the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are hurting. There are more than 100 LCC dogs in the country, but only one other in the Northwest: Team Isaac in Spokane. I am thrilled that the Puget Sound Region now has a comfort dog, ready to serve wherever God calls. LCC will help us coordinate deployments, especially during crises, when comfort dogs often support communities behind the scenes, including 9-1-1 call centers and medical examiner offices. We will frequently serve alongside Team Isaac, and occasionally with teams from Nevada and California.
One meaningful example of our ministry occurred recently when Team Isaac and Team Sharon supported the community of Zion Lutheran School in Corvallis, Oregon after their beloved kindergarten teacher, Caroline Moses, was swept out to sea by a sneaker wave. We joined the staff for prayer and devotions, visited each classroom, and spent time with Caroline’s grieving family. Her parents shared her picture and their heartache, while her sons embraced the dogs and spoke openly with the handlers. What a blessing to see how God used our dogs to provide a safe space for family members to express their grief and receive the unique comfort that Isaac and Sharon can give.
Now that we have Sharon, the real work has begun. Our four caregivers (two families), five handlers, and I are helping Sharon settle into her new home and church community. We are all falling in love with her. Her silky English cream coat and warm, attentive gaze endear her to everyone she meets. Over six weeks, our team trained with Sharon twice a week, sending videos to LCC for feedback, until an LCC trainer visited us for final evaluations. A few days later, on Nov. 16, Sharon and her team were commissioned and officially became part of St. Luke’s of Federal Way.
We look forward to weekly visits to our local food bank, two assisted living homes, Concordia Christian Academy, and every place God opens for us to serve. Sharon is already touching lives — and this is only the beginning.
