As the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School returned to class on Thursday (Jan. 3) for the first time since last month’s deadly shooting spree, they and their parents were greeted by police escorts, support counselors, teachers – and a team of four-legged pastors called “comfort dogs.”

With the memory of the Dec. 14 massacre that killed 20 children and six staff still raw, it was a tense scene with a heavy police presence, but Lutheran Church Charities’ (LCC) seven golden retrievers brought a healing presence, said LCC president Tim Hetzner.