Since the day after the horrific mass murder in Tumbler Ridge, a Penticton woman and her faithful four-legged companion have become an integral part of a small army of on-site crisis workers.
Dede Dacyk and Benelli, a retriever-lab cross canine, more affectionately known as Benny, were recently back in the small, northeastern mining community of 2,500.
It was their third trip since the Feb. 10 killing spree when Jesse Van Rootselaar shot her mother and half-brother at their home and then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School where she murdered six people and injured 27 others before taking her own life.
“I just heard what the kids heard the day of the shooting,” said Dacyk, recalling her first visit to the community. “They heard the shots, they heard the screaming and they saw things they should never have seen.”
Dacyk is the long-serving program manager and coordinator for the Penticton and Summerland RCMP Victim Services.
She described her initial trip on Feb. 11, so soon after the tragedy, as extremely sad.
“I think people were still in shock and were trying to wrap their heads around… I mean how do you make sense of what happened?” said Dacyk, who has been awarded for her work over the years. “There were a lot of what-ifs.
“Lots of tears and sadness but they (residents) found strength in each other; they definitely felt the warmth from one another.”
She added that many of the school staff who weren’t there that day felt an incredible sense of guilt, and those who were there felt guilt for not being able to prevent it.
“It’s like you couldn’t win but Benny was just so warmly welcomed and seemed to make so much of an impact,” said Dacyk.
The Pacific Assistance Dog Society trained Benny in Burnaby where the trainees actually determine their own best course of action with the help of their trainers.
This is Dacyk’s second service dog, her first, Calypso, retired four years ago. Her work is largely funded through the provincial Ministry of Public Safety.
After the pair’s first trip to Tumbler their presence was requested for the first day back to school just over two weeks following the shooting as gradual, non-mandatory classes began in portables.
Their third visit came as students and teachers returned to the classrooms after the Spring Break.
Dacyk described the current situation as, “Tough. Some kids are really struggling and the setup of the classroom is not ideal. Overcrowded and the teachers are frustrated but doing the best they can.”
That’s where Benny’s help is most critical.
“Benny draws attention to herself,” said Dacyk, reaching down to pet her family member and working partner. “After we were first there when we’d go back into a classroom the students go ‘ahh, it’s Benny, we love Benny.’
“She (Benny) snuggles with people and warms up with them and people are drawn to her. All the kids got to know her because she provides that calm, loving, supportive environment and it seems to make a difference because they want us back.”
In addition to the school and community centre the pair often just strolled down the streets and went into businesses to talk with people.
That included one time in a cafe where an unknown Penticton couple had donated money to pay for menu items for on-site service workers.
“It’s such a small community, they all know each other,” said Dacyk. “They coached them (victims) in hockey, they did this or that with them or they have kids who were their friends. It affected the whole community.”
And the dog is not just a working partner.
“When Benny has the vest on she is trained to do a job but once the vest is off, we are home,” she said. “Benny is a dog that is part of my family, we are very bonded and rarely apart.”
The one thing she is very careful to protect is her own emotional health, especially in situations like Tumbler Ridge.
“Things like those are sad, very, very sad but I try not to dwell on how sad it is,” she said. “I can’t fix what’s happened. I can’t take away all the pain but if Benny and I can just be with folks and do the best we can, that’s the important thing.
“I just feel like it was an honour to go into that situation (in Tumbler) to be given a chance to help support that community after such a devastating event.”
