Hospital Donates Stuffed Dalmatians to Local Fire Departments

ORANGE CITY, Fla., March 15, 2019 – On March 14, AdventHealth Fish Memorial donated 1,500 stuffed Dalmatian dogs to the Orange City, DeBary and Deltona fire departments. The local fire departments give these stuffed animals to children at accident scenes throughout the year.

This is the ninth year Florida Hospital Fish Memorial has given Dalmatian dogs. Historically, the Orange City hospital gave teddy bears, but transitioned to Dalmatians in 2010.

Dalmatians were originally trained to be coach dogs and run alongside horse-drawn carriages. This training continued as Dalmatians were further trained to run in front of the fire cart, clear a path, and guide the horses-drawn fire engine toward the fire. Even after horse-drawn fire carriages were phased out by motorized fire engines, Dalmatians have remained in firehouses as guard dogs and mascots.

About AdventHealth Fish Memorial
AdventHealth Fish Memorial in Orange City has 175-beds and is one of the six hospitals in Flagler, Lake and Volusia counties that composes the AdventHealth Central Florida Division - North Region. Formerly known as Florida Hospital Fish Memorial, the organization’s parent company changed the name of all wholly-owned entities to AdventHealth on Jan. 2, 2019. Based in Altamonte Springs, AdventHealth is a connected system of care. With more than 80,000 team members, AdventHealth is one of the nation’s largest faith-based health care systems with nearly 50 hospitals and hundreds of care sites in nearly a dozen states. With the mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth Fish Memorial provides whole person care to heal the body, mind and spirit. For more information about AdventHealth Fish Memorial, visit http://AdventHealthFishMemorial.com.

Photo Caption:
From left to right: Chris Hoffman, Lieutenant/EMT; Ronnie Long, Orange City/DeBary Fire Chief; Mike Kyp, Orange City Battalion Chief; Annquenett Whack, Firefighter and paramedic; Ryan Kazazis, Firefighter and paramedic; Michelle Johnson, AdventHealth Fish Memorial chief nursing officer; Chris Johnson, Firefighter and paramedic; Bill Snyder, Deltona Fire Chief; and Sam Pilcher, Orange City Deputy Chief. Sitting in the front is Cadet Megan Perkin with Arson, the Orange City Fire Department mascot.