Negan the golden retriever is a registered therapy dog who brings joy to everyone he encounters, from hospitals and schools to fire stations and nursing homes.
“When we’re at the hospital and we’re walking down the hall, they just scream his name,” said his owner, Charlene Rothe.
Rothe founded the charity Paws Be With You because of the joy a therapy dog brought to her late father during a hospital stay.
“As soon as we got Negan, I was determined that no matter what, we were going to start this,” she said.
Her father was a Philadelphia firefighter who was forced to retire after the 11-alarm fire at the Gulf Oil refinery in 1975. Eight firefighters died and more than a dozen were injured, including Charlene’s father, George.
“He went through a lot, and I never knew, and that’s probably because he wanted to save everybody,” she said.
Now, Negan and Charlene visit the Greenacres Fire Department, one of the busiest in Palm Beach County, every week to give back to first responders.
“They witness traumatic events much more often than the average person,” said Greenacres Fire Rescue Chief Brian Fuller.
In the past five years, 20 first responders in Palm Beach County have died by suicide, a statistic that leads the state of Florida.
Fuller said he has seen a noticeable change in morale since the therapy dogs started visiting, but he has struggled to find an organisation to visit.
“I think it’s because the public isn’t aware of the need,” he said.
After posting on Facebook asking for help finding a therapy dog programme for the fire service, a friend put him in touch with Charlene Rothe.
“I wake up every day with a smile on my face,” said Rothe. “It’s my dream come true and I know my dad is so happy smiling down on me.”
Negan has seven weekly visits, including the Delray Medical Center and the Best Buddies program at Spanish River High School.
Rothe hopes to continue these visits, attend more community events and eventually have more dogs participate in Paws Be With You.
Negan, meanwhile, is a TikTok sensation with more than a million likes and 41,000 followers.
