Freedom Dogs Improve Returning Soldiers' Lives
Published March 9, 2009
Photo credit: ZT Pet News Photo by Canaan Brumley
"Pets are good medicine", is a statement to which any animal lover will agree. There is nothing with which to compare in the healing department, than having a kitty deeply purring, when snuggled on one's lap, or to receive a sloppy and wet doggie kiss smack on the nose which can lift up our spirits by putting a huge smile on our face.
I was fascinated while reading an article which featured canines enlisted to assist our troops in service abroad and the deep attachment which develops between them. The problem is that once they return home, often there is a deep void created and military personnel still long for the support which these trained canines gave them.
Freedom Dogs, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization has heard these voices of returning service people and responded by stepping up to the plate. They offer a program which will help Marines returning from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq to recover from lingering medical and physical problems through a special program which trains service dogs.
One of the first marines to work with Freedom dogs is Sgt. Ian Welch. The 25 year old is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury and Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), after his tours of duty in Iraq. Injured during his first tour in 2003, he was re-deployed with his unit again in 2004 and 2005 and yet does not consider himself to be a hero. He said, "Heroes don't come home."
While Sgt. Welch is now safe and living in San Diego, the traumas he experienced while at war continue to haunt him. His brain injury, depression and the serious effects of PTSD cause confusion and memory loss. When his commanding officer, Capt. Catherine Harrington met him at the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton, the Marine training camp in southern California, her impression of Sgt. Welch was he was "withdrawn and dealing with some of the awful things these guys have to deal with. She is thrilled with his progress that the impact Freedom Dogs has made him. She sees the "drastic difference in his demeanor and apparent emotional state."
Training Gunner to be a full-time service dog, Sgt. Welch delights in playing with the black Labrador puppy. His connection with the puppy is very deep, and he even drives an hour to take Gunner for his veterinary appointments. He also works with three other Freedom Dogs who are being trained by Beth Russell who helped launch Freedom Dogs in 2004. In 2006 the Marine Corps began a pilot research program with service dogs to ascertain if they would be able to help troops combat PTSD. Welch says the Freedom
Dogs help counter the effects of his PTSD by offering a simple, cuddly distraction. Anything from a loud noise to seeing a box on the side of the road can trigger his PTSD. The dogs sense Welch's anxiety and in return, make their presence known through touch, he says.
The dogs have received special training for two years to become therapy dogs for people dealing with cognitive disorders and physical disabilities.
Read more about the amazing work of Freedom Dogs which enrich the lives of returning service people utilizing special gifts of "man's best friend" by visiting http://www.FreedomDogs.org
Leave a comment and share your thoughts about the role in which Service dogs play in helping returning troops heal from their physical and emotional wounds.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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I was medically retired from the Marine Corps in October 2011 for injuries sustained in combat. For the last two years, I was assigned to Wounded Warrior Bn - West (WWBn-W), Camp Pendleton, CA. While at WWBn-W, I was identified by the medical staff as someone who would benefit from the use of a service dog and was entered into a program with Freedom Dogs.
After training with Gunner, who was to be my permanent placement service dog, for almost two years, I was told that I will not be receiving a service dog. Beth Russell-Hoyt, the Director/Lead Trainer of Freedom Dogs, told me that she feels Marines benefit simply from being around the dogs, and that Freedom Dogs will not be permanently placing any service dogs with Marines. This devastated me.
Freedom dogs is supposed to be an organization that helps wounded Marines. All they have succeeded in doing is making an already bad situation exponentially worse. Since finding out I will not be permanently place with Gunner, my mental health appointments have doubled, all of my medications have increased in both dosage and frequency, I have become more withdrawn from friends and family, and I an generally depressed throughout the day. What bothers me the most is that I am not the only Marine whose life was adversely affected by the lies told by Freedom Dogs director Beth Russell-Hoyt.
Since its inception, Freedom Dogs has failed to place even a single dog with it’s wounded Marine partner. All Freedom Dogs has achieved is aiding in the eventual ruin of the emotional lives of every Marine it has come in contact with. There are several other non-profit organizations which successfully place service dogs with wounded Marines, and it is they who need are support, not Freedom Dogs.
I implore you to use all of the resources available to you to stop Freedom Dogs, Beth Russell-Hoyt, and all of the Freedom Dogs staff, from having any further contact with any Marines.