(NewsNation) — Before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, tornadoes ripped through the state, with St. Lucie County being one of the areas hit hardest.

A local therapy dog, Ben, came out of retirement and now goes door-to-door, offering a head to pet for residents who are now picking up the pieces after the storm.

“He has come a long way, but I’m very proud of him, and he’s a natural at what he does,” Olivia Chasse, Ben’s owner, said.

Ben worked at a nursing home, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, they stopped allowing visitors, so Chasse decided the time had come to let him “just be a dog and enjoy life.”

After the hurricane, though, Chasse saw people donating food, time and supplies and also wanted to help.

“I thought, ‘Well, we’ve got something a little bit different that we can offer,'” Chasse said. “(Ben) got pretty excited about going to work. He knew he was going to get some back scratches.”