ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke Fire-EMS has a new mascot. Meet Caiden: the department’s first-ever foster dog.
Caiden is about three years old and was picked up as a stray by the Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection (RCACP).
The department’s community risk reduction specialist, Rachel Hale, came up with the idea to help shelter dogs get adopted while giving first responders a reason to smile.
“Caiden comes in the door and everybody is smiling and excited,” said Hale. “They just love having him visit.”
″We have an abundance of dogs and a short supply of adopters. So anything that we can do to get the people in here to adopt these dogs, we will do it,” said Melinda Rector, the director of operations at RCACP.
Caiden has already gotten several adoption applications.
The department hopes to continue fostering dogs from the shelter.