Sharon the Comfort Dog spreads paw-sitive vibes

Published 1:30 pm Friday, March 6, 2026

“Do not pet” is the instruction on most working dog vests, but Sharon the Comfort Dog wears a uniform with the opposite message.

Her vest says “please pet me,” and while she doesn’t know any classic tricks, she has received over 2,000 hours of training to be a comforting presence in a variety of situations.

As a comfort dog, her role is to provide a calm and comforting presence to those in high-stress situations. She’s already begun providing that support in Federal Way and South King County since she arrived at St Luke’s Lutheran Church last fall.

Sharon is part of the Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 program that has placed over 130 dogs across the country. She is the second comfort dog in Washington and the first in the western region of the state.

With 10 handlers, she is available for about two visits per day, six days a week, and her team is eager to connect with those she might be able to support.

She is available for scheduled visits or as part of emergency or disaster response to provide comfort to survivors and first responders.

LCC comfort dogs have provided support at 911 call centers, to first responders and chaplains, juvenile and municipal court systems, funerals, hospice centers and Honor Flight events for veterans.

So far, Sharon has visited the Multi-Service Center food bank, four assisted living homes, two schools and the The Pete Andersen FUSION Family Center.

“Her job is to put smiles on people’s faces … there’s so much divisiveness and so much negative stuff going on in the world. If Sharon can bring a little bit of light, you know, in a dark world, then we’ve accomplished our goal,” ministry partner Kevin Butler said.

Sharon doesn’t know any traditional tricks, but is trained on commands that help her provide that calming presence. One command instructs her to put her paws on a hospital bed or counter so she can more easily be hugged or petted.

Her handlers have also been trained, not only on how to work with and continue Sharon’s education, but also on Spiritual First Aid, which “teaches frontline peer-to-peer spiritual and emotional care and trauma-informed best practices.”

While their Christian faith is part of their work, the Comfort Dog program is there to “absolutely serve any person, any faith and background — that doesn’t matter at all,” Stephanie Pariseau told the Mirror. She is the leader of the Comfort Dog Team, also known as the Top Dog.

“We’re a church that wants to love on our community,” Butler said. Sharon is “the one that gets us invited to go and listen to people that are maybe lonely or hurting…that’s our number one goal, is to just serve our community.”

LCC’s mission is to “share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need.”

“We don’t go with the purpose of evangelism. It’s more of a service…then, if someone is Christian, then we pray. Sometimes we’re praying silently for them,” Pariseau said. Occasionally, they’ll share that they are a praying group and ask if there’s anything that person would like to have them pray about.

Sharon’s 10 handlers have been trained on how to work with her, and 13 ministry partners accompany her and focus on connecting with people. She has two homes, alternating between caregivers who are part of her handler team.

“She’s the rock star, we’re her entourage,” Butler said.

One of the first moments Pariseau said she really got to see Sharon’s impact was when she was sent to Corvallis, Oregon, after a kindergarten teacher died after being swept out to sea.

When the teacher’s sixth- and eighth-grade sons first went back to school, they had a comfort dog there for support.

“They focused on the dog for a half hour…they’re telling us about their dog…they were just so relaxed because we weren’t there to ask them questions [about their mom],” Pariseau said.

“That’s, I think, when I first saw the magic,” Pariseau said of the moment she saw how helpful it was to those kids to have a positive distraction and calming presence that could help them let their guard down during such a hard moment.

Those moments are exactly what the comfort dog program is meant to do, and is available anywhere that Sharon could be helpful.

“We’re here to serve the community. We just need to be invited,” Butler said.

To learn more about Sharon, email sharon@k9comfort.org or follow her adventures on her Facebook page.