A dog hired by a San Diego, California, fire department proudly walked into her first day on the job with nothing more than smiles and happy trots, giving hope that her role will grow and the department can hire other canines.
Five-year-old Annie started her job at the Lakeside Fire Protection District as the department’s first member of the new mental health program. Her job is to help firefighters recover and manage the overall stress associated with the job.
Douglas Strange of Lakeside Fire told Newsweek via TikTok that the English Labrador adopted from Guide Dogs of the Desert had since been trained to be a station dog and is AKC-certified. And within two months of the job, she’s already providing an escape for the workers with playtime, hanging out and endless snuggles.
There was never any doubt Annie wouldn’t do her job, as she walked into the first day full of confidence. The day was caught on camera and shared to her TikTok account @annie.the.fire.dog on March 10. The clip showed Annie getting familiar with her surroundings and gave a tour of her own little office. It didn’t take long for her to settle in.
@annie.the.fire.dog/TikTok
The station employees are greeted daily by Annie with her tail wagging and a smile spreading across her face. Annie also loves playing fetch, especially with the football, snuggling, hanging out, and like any dog, receiving treats.
Annie is joined by brother and sister dogs who are also station and therapy dogs, Strange said. However, she’s the first canine doing the job full time.
“Annie’s our first full-time fire dog here, and the future looks bright on getting another station dog for other stations,” Strange added.
Viewer Reactions
Annie’s first day quickly touched people’s hearts and the TikTok video reached over 1.4 million views, 258,300 likes and 926 comments.
“If I call the firefighters I expect Annie to show up,” joked a viewer.
Another asked: “Has she trained the chief and other essential staff yet?” The video creator responded by saying: “She outranks them.”
A third person commented: “She is going to micromanage the fire fighters and always be right next to them watching what they’re doing.” Hey, who wouldn’t want Annie to greet them every day at work?
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our “Pet of the Week” lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
