Meet Ember the Golden Labrador - the adorable 'crisis dog' who helps firefighters deal with stress as they work weeks without seeing their family

  • Ember is a crisis response dog for Victoria Police and Country Fire Authority 
  • Her job is to comfort and support emergency service workers after stress 
  • Ember is owned by firefighter Natalie Brindle, who trained her as a therapy dog
  • She has her own Facebook page, which Ms Brindle updates with cute photos 

By Charlie Moore For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Firefighters who have been working flat-out in dangerous conditions since October are being supported by a four-year-old dog named Ember.

The golden labrador is a crisis response dog for Victoria Police and the state's Country Fire Authority.

Her job is to comfort and support emergency service workers who have experienced stressful situations.

Firefighters who have been working flat-out in dangerous conditions since October are being supported by a four-year-old dog named Ember (pictured)

Firefighters who have been working flat-out in dangerous conditions since October are being supported by a four-year-old dog named Ember (pictured)

The golden labrador is a crisis response dog for Victoria Police and the state's Country Fire Authority
Ember dressed up as a chef

The golden labrador (left and right) is a crisis response dog for Victoria Police and the state's Country Fire Authority

Ember is owned by firefighter Natalie Brindle, who trained her as a therapy dog in Portland, Victoria.

On Tuesday, the pair were in New South Wales and decided to pop into the Rural Fire Service Headquarters in Sydney to visit dedicated firefighters and support workers. 

Therapy dogs are used by emergency services across the country and are known to help employees relax and deal with stress.

For example, Victoria Ambulance has 12 therapy dogs to help employees after high-stress situations. 

Ember's job is to comfort and support emergency service workers who have experienced stressful situations

Ember's job is to comfort and support emergency service workers who have experienced stressful situations

Ember (pictured on her fourth birthday) is owned by firefighter Natalie Brindle, who trained her as a therapy dog in Portland, Victoria

Ember (pictured on her fourth birthday) is owned by firefighter Natalie Brindle, who trained her as a therapy dog in Portland, Victoria

Ember (pictured) has her own Facebook page, which Natalie updates with cute photos showing her wearing fancy dress and hanging out with emergency workers

Ember (pictured) has her own Facebook page, which Natalie updates with cute photos showing her wearing fancy dress and hanging out with emergency workers

Explaining Ember's job, Ms Brindle told Daily Mail Australia: 'She is trained to do a peer support role and gives our workers the opportunity to focus on something positive. 

'For example, if a paramedic experiences a death, dogs like Ember could be waiting  for them when they get back to headquarters.

'Ember is part of the debrief process to help bring stress levels down.

'If an emergency worker has seen something confronting we can't make them unsee it - but we can use therapy dogs to help them confront the situation.

'Sometimes just patting the dog while talking to their superiors helps them process what has happened. It may not be an exact science but we know it works.'

Recently, Ember has been travelling around Victoria working to help firefighters during the devastating bushfire crisis.

Explaining Ember's job, Ms Brindle told Daily Mail Australia: 'She is trained to do a peer support role and gives our workers the opportunity to focus on something positive'

Explaining Ember's job, Ms Brindle told Daily Mail Australia: 'She is trained to do a peer support role and gives our workers the opportunity to focus on something positive'

Ember (pictured) was trained as a therapy dog but has also received her assistance dog accreditation which allows her to travel on public transport and enter public buildings
She  has also received her assistance dog accreditation which allows her to travel on public transport and enter public buildings

Ember (pictured) was trained as a therapy dog but has also received her assistance dog accreditation which allows her to travel on public transport and enter public buildings

She was trained as a therapy dog but has also received her assistance dog accreditation which allows her to travel on public transport and enter public buildings.

Part of that was to have exposure training so she is not scared of sirens or people wearing firefighting outfits or riot gear. 

Ember has her own Facebook page, which Ms Brindle updates with cute photos showing her wearing fancy dress and hanging out with emergency workers. 

Ember (pictured) has had exposure training so she is not scared of sirens or people wearing firefighting outfits or riot gear

Ember (pictured) has had exposure training so she is not scared of sirens or people wearing firefighting outfits or riot gear

 

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