Driving through heavy snow on a Sunday morning in February, I wondered, “Why I had yanked myself out on a day like this?” Once at my destination, nestled in the back of an industrial park in Berea, my doubts immediately dissolved.
I enter a bright room filled with a circle of chairs and 6 individuals with dogs resting comfortably on the floor to their sides. My eyes lock on a gentleman in a wheel chair with a tiny little white dog at his feet. The dog is alert and calm, focused devotedly on her owner. You can feel the love between them. Across the room I see a confident, grinning young man with a beautiful lab mix by his side. They too show this incredible bond that you immediately feel. I know what that bond feels like because I have my own special dog, Gracie. My heart swells, as I eagerly want to learn more about these people and their dogs.
Patty Hugel and Lisa Slama are the visionary women who founded the non-profit called Veteran’s Best Friend (VBF). Lisa is a psychologist and certified dog trainer who owns K9 Coaches. Patty and Lisa connected through Patty’s work in the local animal rescue community. These women brilliantly saw a need to help returning veterans who suffer with PTSD while also providing abandoned dogs a second chance for a loving home. VBF offers free assistance finding a suitable dog to rescue, then offers intense training (at no cost to the veteran) to teach the owner and the dog how to work together as a team. Training can take anywhere from 1-2 years to complete. Every Sunday morning at 10:30 am veterans are invited to attend special training sessions where they learn to transform their dog into a certified therapy dog.
I learn that the little white dog’s name is Ruby and that her owner is “Sully”, a disabled Vietnam veteran who was exposed to the toxin agent orange. Sully tells me that Ruby was a basket case when they first started this training. She barked at the other dogs, bit Lisa on their first visit and needed to be trained to calm down. Today it’s hard to believe Ruby was anything but a devote caregiver. They report that there are still rough spots, like when Sully took Ruby to Wal-Mart on a busy Saturday. Practicing what Lisa and Patty teach in the real world helps them both become more confident.
That morning I also met Larry and his beautiful dog Leo. Larry tells me he is excited to be visiting Hiram College so that he can complete his degree to become a Social Worker. Larry has been attending community college with Leo by his side. Everyone on campus knows them by name. When I tell Larry about Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) he is very interested in learning more. Seizing the opportunity, I take him through several rounds of tapping, just so he can learn the points and see how it feels. I watch his face relax as we tap. He asks me to take his photo and says that if he doesn’t have class on May 12, he will bring Leo to meet the women of The Indigo Connection when Patty and Lisa are scheduled to speak for the group. Sully said he and Ruby will plan to be there too. I couldn’t be more delighted.
It’s official – Veteran’s Best Friend is the charitable cause I will embrace in 2014. I’ve already mailed the first donation and have invited VBF participants to attend my monthly EFT group seminars at no charge. Patty and Lisa have already said they will be coming to the Feb. 19 session. Learn more about VBF by going to their website at www.veteransbestfriend.org
By the way, if you have a dog you would like to train to be certified as a therapy dog, Lisa and Patty can help with that too. I’m scheduled to bring Gracie out to K9 Coaches to begin class. Even at 9 years, Lisa tells me old dogs can learn new tricks. I can already see this leading to even more positive outreach in the communities where I serve.
