Supermarket Employees
Gas Station Attendants
Sanitation Workers
Delivery Drivers
Health Care Professionals/Veterinary Offices
Energy Workers
Food & Agriculture Workers
Police officers, conservation officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and 911 call center workers ……
Working Dogs
Before the pandemic we are currently facing hit hard in the United States, I had the honor of photographing a canine handler, Officer Knight with his two working dogs, Officer Kitt & Officer Pearl. I had planned on writing a post about their job and their work later this Spring…. but I wanted to post them now.
There has been so much gloomy press these days with so much uncertainty for many Americans. While we hear a little about health care workers being on the frontline of this epidemic, there are also so many other people (and canines) that are not getting much gratitude, if any at all. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for all the doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and those working in hospitals either prepping rooms or cleaning them up for the next case…. but there are so many people still working under the radar to make our days in staying home as normal as possible…. they get very little credit and they are putting so much at risk too.
While my husband and I are held up at home, we are still able to order our groceries as needed and get them delivered. We even ordered take-out from one of our favorite pizza places this past week (Tomatoes Apizza in Birmingham)….
We are able to live a pretty normal life even in self isolation thanks to all these people getting us the things we need and keeping everything running as normal as possible. This is especially true for our police and fire departments. While most of us don’t see or hear from them ever, they are still there doing their work and keeping us safe. If you say thank you , they say they are just doing their job…. but their job right now means being potentially exposed to covid-19 and other viruses for that matter….
Because of the nature of their positions, they may not have time to grab a mask, gloves or protective gear. AND…….This isn’t just now, this is ALL THE TIME. Their jobs require them to work hard and fast and they may need to react faster than time will allow to protect themselves from all the potential harm.
This is also true for our canine officers out there. They ask for nothing and give us everything. They are loyal and will always have the back of their human counterpart. They are for sure among the group of undervalued heroes.
I know this is a hard time for everyone and some of us are finding ourselves out of work for a little bit or maybe longer…. but please be kind to one another… be patient, we will all get through this…. we will be safe and make it through because of all those humans and furry friends that keep showing up to do their job.
Also- do me a favor and give a shout out to your favorite officer, fire fighter or department and especially their working canines that choose to keep going.
Pictured in this article are Officer Knight with the Rochester Police Department and his working dogs Kitt and Pearl. Kitt is probably one of the most gorgeous German Shepard’s I’ve seen. He is originally from Czechoslovakia and came to the US specifically to work with Officer Knight and Rochester. Pearl is the happiest canine officer I ever had the privilege to meet as well. She is a career changed Labrador Retriever from Leader Dogs for the Blind.