The crisis dogs have returned to lend a helping paw.

The Animal Assisted Crisis Response team’s mission statement is “to assist in safe and effective emotional rescue, recovery and ongoing support to individuals and responders who have been affected by crisis or disaster.”

They provided this service to NIU students last year following the Feb 14. shootings, and they are responding to NIU’s needs again one year later.

Tikva is a Keeshond that has been serving with the AACR team since she was just over one year old. Now she is nearing retirement, and the NIU community is one of her last deployments. Tikva and her owner, Cindy Ehlers, hail from Oregon.

Ehlers is the founder and president of the AACR.

Tikva is a small dog with large tufts of grey and black fur. She loves waving hello and receiving treats.

If Tikva could talk, she would tell you stories of the dust cloud that hung in the air around ground zero in the days after Sept. 11. She would tell you tales of circling the pit that became the site of one of the biggest body recovery efforts in American history.

But if she could talk, she would also tell you about the smiles and laughter she brought to the weary recovery workers.

Crisis response dogs receive intensive training. They begin their training as therapy dogs and move on to crisis response programs that include classroom hours and responding to a simulated crisis.

Lionel is a seven-year-old Chocolate Labrador/Hound mix. Lionel and his owner, Pat, visit many different locations in Kentucky, but could not resist the opportunity to help at NIU following the shootings.

If Lionel could talk, he would tell you about the sick and the dying in hospices in his home state of Kentucky. He would tell you of the somber mood of a funeral he attended. He would also tell you of the smiles and laughter of children as they learn by reading to him from their class books.

Rebekah Kohli, program coordinator of the NIU Women’s Studies program, remembers the crisis dogs from last year.

“The first time I smiled after the 14th was when I saw the dogs,” Kohli said. “Memories are going to come back, and I am happy to have a positive one with the dogs.”

Pongo is a sleek Black Labrador who has been with the AACR for three of his four years of life. He and his owner, Chris Monroe, hail from Washington state.

Pongo’s vest is adorned with an NIU patch as well as a medal of participation from a United States Marine training exercise. He loves to be pet and will wash your face with his tongue.

If Pongo could talk, he would tell you stories of a second grade classroom shattered by the loss of a student in a car crash. Then he would tell you about the smiles he helped to return to the faces of the mourning students.