Broward County Fire Rescue paramedic Dean Moreno with Oscar. {courtesy}
It’s a given that first responders will be there whenever we need them. However, sometimes, the difficult, harrowing tasks they perform daily cause these brave men and women to face their own stressors and anxiety.
Enter Oscar, a 4-year-old yellow lab, and Dean Moreno, his owner, handler (and human), to provide comfort and support to the people who are always there for us.
Moreno, who lives in the Beachwood Heights section of Coral Springs, is a firefighter/paramedic with Broward County Fire Rescue in Weston.
Recently, Oscar was named the recipient of the 2024 Rikki Mitchell Animal Achievement Award. This award is presented annually by the Animal Law section of the Florida Bar.
It is named in honor of Rikki, the first therapy dog allowed in the Florida Court system in 2012 to help children testify and comfort them. After Rikki departed for the Rainbow Bridge in 2017, the Florida Bar awards one animal in the state that has made an impact.
Moreno is part of his department’s PEER/Crisis response team. He and Oscar bring comfort to first responders after a tragic call. “Oscar calms them down,” he said.
Oscar and his human partner usually assist first responders, but this is not always the case. In June 2021, the duo was called to the scene of the tragic condominium collapse in Surfside to soothe and comfort fellow first responders.
It didn’t stop there. Oscar and Moreno also visited the hotels where the surviving families were staying.
Oscar lives with Moreno 24-7. “I got him at eight weeks, Moreno said. “I’ve been blessed with Oscar. He turned four on April 29.”
Moreno says that while we all hear about the heroic things first responders do, we do not see the aftereffects and the toll it might take on them. Just seeing and being able to pet Oscar helps relieve job-related stress.
Two years after the Surfside tragedy, Moreno took a class, and a fellow first responder approached him, saying he remembered them from the disaster. “ ‘You brought Oscar to Surfside,’ “ the person told him. “ ‘It was the first time I smiled in two weeks.’ “
Moreno said, “It’s a gift that keeps giving.”
Not only do Moreno and Oscar respond to emergencies regularly, but he volunteers on his own time to visit schools and even a substance abuse rehab facility for first responders. “No one cares about me. I’m just the dog handler; he makes the difference.”
Oscar and Moreno’s vital work did not go unnoticed by Stephanie Perkins, the director of Animal Therapy at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, who nominated Oscar for this prestigious award.
She says she found out about the winning team of Oscar and Moreno through social media.
“We found them and everything he was doing as a volunteer,” Perkins said. “He does this all on his own time.”
Perkins adds that it became obvious that this therapy dog and his master share a beautiful bond.
“It’s just overall a big picture of what they do as first responders: They give empathy and compassion to others, and they need it in return.”
For these reasons, she nominated Oscar for the award presented on June 21 in Orlando by a Florida Bar’s Animal Law section member.
Ralph A. DeMeo, an environmental attorney, chairs the animal law committee presenting the award. He requests an animal to be nominated for this distinguished honor every year and points out that the nominee does not need to be a canine. Last year, the award went to Magic, a miniature therapy horse from Gentle Carousel, an equine therapy organization.
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