(Photo: submitted by Town of Riverview)

Riverview Fire and Rescue has welcomed a new four-legged friend and mental health support to their team.

Tanker is the newest member of Riverview Fire and Rescue.

The five-month-old miniature golden doodle has been getting acquainted with the crew for the past few weeks.

“The number of calls that our firefighter paramedics respond to has increased significantly in 2022. We are committed to supporting the mental health of our team, and the facility dog program is one more way we can do that,” Chief Robin True says.  “Having Tanker around will make things a little better on those hard days and once he’s fully trained, he’ll be keenly attuned to anyone who is struggling. We look forward to introducing him to the community as part of his ongoing training and as a valued member of our fire prevention team.”

(Photo: submitted by Town of Riverview)

Lieutenant Paramedic Dave Murray will be the primary handler of Tanker, with help from the entire crew and other trained supporters of the program.

Tanker is a companion from the Canine Therapy for First Responders Atlantic program.

Once he is fully trained, he will join the team on a full-time basis, which is expected to be sometime in the new year.

Tanker joins the Riverview Fire and Rescue team after the sudden passing of their first four-legged recruit, Murphy, earlier this year.

(Photo: submitted by Town of Riverview)