Gracie's Work

Recently, the Veterans Affairs Department decided to discontinue funding for veterans with dogs who help manage their daily battles with mental health challenges. Warriors with invisible service wounds are finding comfort and confidence when matched with a trained canine that is also emotionally sensitive to this population. But the VA is now waiting until research proves what these veterans and canine service training groups already know. These partnerships work.

I am currently training a one-year-old female Labrador, named Gracie, in my work with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) and North Star Foundation. Through the generosity of North Star's executive director, Patty Gross, the vision of a local veterans' program and private funds raised in Washington state, Gracie has become the fifth dog in this successful project to match trained assistance dogs with veterans who live with PTSD and/or traumatic brain injuries.

Earlier canine-veteran partnerships in this project give one veteran the courage to shop at a grocery store with less fear, wake another veteran from nightmares, help a wounded female warrior face daily fears and regain trust, and give another a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

This innovative project and others around the country and in Canada reflect the committed grassroots effort to meet the increasing needs of wounded men and women with military psychological injuries. Other organizations that also donate the cost of their services teach veterans how to train their canine companions to support their mental and physical health. Some sustainable prison dog-training programs include shelter dogs as part of their mission to help inmates, dogs and veterans.

In October, Gracie will meet her prospective veteran to begin the next step of her development. From her successful training progress to date, this young dog will continue the project's goals of bringing hope and comfort to our wounded warriors. As veteran and canine teams prosper around the country, the VA may yet be persuaded to see with their eyes and their hearts the powerful medicine created from these alliances.

Huck's new job

As you know from an earlier post (Nov 27, 2011), I have been hosting and working with an assistance dog-in-training. Huck is the 4th dog in the partnership project with North Star Foundation (Connecticut) and the Veterans  Transitional Housing Program (Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs) located in Port Orchard, Washington. This project began when Ray Switzer, who manages the Veterans program, and Patty Gross, founder of North Star, began imagining the benefits of matching emotionally sensitive dogs (bred to assist autistic children) with veterans living with psychological trauma.

Once a young dog has been selected for this project, he is taught basic obedience, exposed to a variety of public environments and begins to learn specific tasks that will assist his future veteran. Some tasks might be picking up objects and bringing them when asked, activating an access button for an automatic door and turning in a circle to "wipe" his paws.

At about 18-months of age, this nicely trained, but still immature, dog comes to stay with me for more advanced public training and is introduced to his veteran. I learn what distracts the dog and the areas in which he is solid. And because the primary goal is to provide comfort and psychological assistance, we also spend a lot of time around people of all ages and abilities. It's amazing to watch these sensitive canines adapt their behavior to match a person's spirit.

Huck loves the world and finds joy in every day. His demeanor is what this project is all about...giving comfort to veterans with mental health challenges, courage in public places and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. He was placed with his veteran this weekend, moving in with confidence and hope. This email says it all:

"I'm WAY more than just happy, Wendy, I literally cannot put it into words how happy I am! Huck is such an amazing dog, he is so understanding when he's in crowded areas. Just today, Huck, my mom, and I went to Safeway. Huck always expresses his initial curiosity by sniffing everything, but he immediately adjusted to the surroundings and became obedient. I cannot thank you enough for your expert dog training, Wendy. You trained Huck so well, and Huck became my best friend. I love him so much!!!"

Way to go, Huck!