School Support Dog
Tessa isn’t a traditional teacher – in fact she can’t speak and tends to walk around on all fours, but the students at Elderslie Public School have learned a lot since she arrived.
The certified K9 Therapy Dog joined the school’s staff this year and has become popular with students, parents and teachers alike.
“Tessa has always been a calm and gentle dog,” she said.
“I would take her to the dog park as a puppy and she was always more interested in being with the kids over other dogs.
“When she meets children, she has this calming demeanour where she just wants to be close for a pat or a cuddle.”
The happy-go-lucky canine attends school three days a week.
Ms Phillips said there was a booking system in place to ensure Tessa could help students across the school.
“Therapy dogs provide support to students in a number of ways including emotional support, recognising anxiety, helping improve concentration and communication skills and they also help reduce anti-social behaviour,” she said.
“Tessa provides unconditional love without judgement and is beneficial for student’s emotional, social and cognitive wellbeing.
“Student engagement, morale and wellbeing are all lifted with Tessa at the school.
“Something as simple as Tessa walking by can put a smile on their faces and students are always excited when they know Tessa will be in their room.”
Parents of students with dog allergies or a fear of dogs can also opt out of the program.
Elderslie Public School principal Melissa Clarke said the friendly border collie had a positive effect on the students she interacted with.
“Tessa is positive in many ways,” she said.
“By helping students to socialise, to accept responsibility, be a calming influence on the students and give an incentive to attend school on a more regular basis – and to assist with their emotional and physical well-being, through bonding and caring for the dog.”
Ms Phillips said she had only received positive comments about Tessa’s presence at the school.
“The students of Elderslie Public School absolutely adore her,” she said.
“I constantly have students popping into my room during breaks asking if Tessa is at school or when she is in their classroom next.
“They love how fluffy she is and that she climbs into their lap to have a proper cuddle.
“I had a group of four boys in my class organise a dog kennel with our principal and general assistant as a surprise, which was very sweet of them.
“Parents always comment on how much their child talks about her and love having her in the room, often asking to get a border collie at home now.
“I have one particular student in my class that completes a lot of his work focusing on Tessa and his mother often comments saying the bond he shares with her is amazing.”
Done With Animal Abuse
From locking dogs in overheating cars, to trapping pups in unoccupied homes, to leaving dogs chained in flooded waters during a tropical storm… it seems the stories are endless and while the perpetrators are not representative of the majority of the population, many local residents have indicated that they are fed up with the plethora of first hand witness accounts of animal abuse and neglect and the many examples of animal cruelty in Cayman that are being circulated on social media.
Many social media users have seen the Facebook image of a dog tied up behind the Palm Suites Apartments on Whitman Seymour Drive during Tropical Storm Eta. The images that were shared reveal an animal with its legs submerged in dirty water, unable to move, due to being tightly chained and exposed to harsh rains and tropical storm force winds. The owner was reported and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service confirmed that they attended the premises but the dog was no longer there.
Several weeks ago, Loop Cayman was at the scene of a locked car full of pups that were left behind on a crowded beach in West Bay, in the midst of extreme temperatures with no water. Witnesses at the scene waited for more than an hour before the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service were able to locate the owner as she socialized on the beach. Onlookers were advised by the RCIPS that they would not be able to break into the vehicle to save the animals. When the owner was finally found, she was provided with literature on animal abuse and neglect and was warned for prosecution. She was allowed to leave the location with her dogs in tow.
As evidenced by the warning for prosecution, these acts of abuse and neglect are by no means legal in Cayman.
The Department of Agriculture website indicates that a failure to provide adequate food, water or shelter to an animal under one’s care, or exposing an animal to extreme heat or inclement weather, locking an animal(s) in a hot car, placing an animal in an area with feces, garbage or other objects that can harm them or being kept in an environment that is not suited to an animals needs, where they are unable to stand, turn around or make normal movements are all forms of animal abuse and neglect, as are acts of intentionally and recklessly leaving an animal at a location without providing minimal care or making reasonable arrangements for their care. The question is of course, whether these violations of the law are met with adequate and uniform punishment– there are a variety of opinions that have been offered.
Veteran And His Service Dog
Veteran Louis Belluomini has an important message to share.
And on Veterans Day, he’ll share it with the nation as a guest on “The Rachael Ray Show.”
The Findlay man will appear before a national audience Wednesday to discuss his work as a paramedic during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it’s like to have a mask-clad, goggle-wearing, four-legged sidekick riding on the ambulance with him. His is a story that’s been shared over the past four years in The Courier, but one whose chapters continue to be written.
Belluomini served nine years in the U.S. Army as a psychological operations specialist and military police officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 2015 and returned to Findlay as a broken man. A traumatic brain injury and debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder left him on edge and barely able to get through his shifts as a paramedic.
Vivid nightmares woke him up in the night and challenged his health and safety, along with his relationship as a newlywed. He and wife Jessica knew something had to change, especially with a new baby on the way.
As fate would have it, the couple learned of a nonprofit organization based in Florida called K9s for Warriors, the largest K9/veteran pairing agency in the country. Belluomini began training with Star, then a year-old golden retriever/Labrador mix, who would go on to change his life in ways unimaginable at the time of their pairing in 2016.
Star gave Belluomini the emotional support he needed to make it through grueling days at the EMS station. She made him feel safe during everyday activities like grocery shopping and driving on the interstate, and she immediately learned to sense when Belluomini was having a nightmare and how to gently shake him from his sleep. Star also became an inseparable playmate to the couple’s son, Silvio.
By Belluomini’s side 24/7, Star also became the first known service dog in America to ride on an ambulance, and continues to work alongside Belluomini as a part-time employee of Putnam County EMS. Pictures of Star, now 5 years old, outfitted in a mask, goggles and booties during the coronavirus pandemic, have circled the internet and may just be what caught the eye of producers at “The Rachael Ray Show.”
Belluomini’s interview with the celebrity chef, known for her love of dogs and her own line of dog food, was done last week via Zoom. Viewers in the Findlay area can tune in to WTVG at 10 a.m. Wednesday to watch the show. Belluomini said everyone on the show’s team went out of their way to make him feel relaxed and comfortable, and Ray herself was “super nice” and engaged during their virtual conversation. Ray even took the time to offer a personal hello to Jessica, after hearing that she was a fan of the show.
During his interview, Belluomini described working in Putnam County, which like many portions of rural America has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus over the past several months.
“I would say probably the majority of our calls are either COVID-positive or COVID-potential,” Belluomini said.
He explained that while it is standard practice for EMT’s to wear gloves when responding to emergency calls, masks were formerly optional. Belluomini said the pandemic has likely shifted the industry standard to paramedics always wearing masks, as an added safety precaution for themselves and their patients.
When a call comes in for a COVID-19 patient, team members must don a gown, gloves, goggles and an N95 or higher mask. The same goes for Star, who seems to have no qualms at all about masking up and heading to the scene of an accident or an ambulance run.
“If I’m taking the precaution, typically she is, too,” he said of the necessary PPE. “Even our dogs on the front lines are able to be safe and help protect others.”
Belluomini has also become an advocate at the local and national levels for the many benefits a service dog can provide veterans and others struggling with mental health issues. He is committed to educating the public on how to — or, more accurately, how not to — interact with service dogs when they encounter them in public. He and Star were even featured in a five-time-Emmy-winning documentary, “A New Leash on Life: The K9s for Warriors Story.”
He used his opportunity on the show to encourage other veterans who are struggling to seek help.
“Because of the stress and the world we’re in now … having a service dog can benefit so many of the frontline heroes,” Belluomini said.
Veterans Week
Veterans from across the country travel to Branson to celebrate veterans week, and now some of those heroes will return home with a new furry friend.
Frank Schlechta, a disabled veteran from Texas, made the trip this morning to meet his new Saint Bernard. “She’s just such a great puppy! She’s beautiful! Oh my God, she’s beautiful!”
Schlechta’s new service dog will be able to help stabilize him as he tries to walk.
“She’s going to be big enough to where when I start falling backwards, she’ll be able to keep me from hitting the deck, you know, hitting the ground.”
Sue Swanigan began Woof for Vets to help those who have sacrificed for their country. Veterans fill out an application for the type of dog they would like and what services they may need. Then Woof for Vets finds the dogs from local breeders, and they handle all of the medical and training expenses before delivering to their new companions.
“This one was a surprise. And so Frank knew he was getting a dog, but he didn’t know what kind. So, all of a sudden it was a surprise when we put it in his lap and that always makes you feel good in your heart.” said Swanigan.
Service Dogs For Veterans
The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) has launched a new virtual lecture series, sponsored by IDEXX. The series will feature varying topics that are centered around research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds.
The first lecture, which is set to launch on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, will focus on the efficacy of service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will feature Marguerite E. O’Haire, Ph.D., associate professor at Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. O’Haire will discuss her published study, “Preliminary efficacy of service dogs as a complementary treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder in military members and veterans,” and her ongoing research on the impacts of a service dog as a complementary treatment for veterans with PTSD.
“The IDEXX Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series highlights pivotal research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds,” officials said in a statement.
Support Animals
There has been a continuous, significant rise in depression, anxiety and mental illness in the lives of college students and as colleges and universities have opened back up for the fall semester, a rise in emotional support animals has occurred. Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, people around the world have been on “lockdown” for months upon months, not able to be in physical contact with loved ones, family members or friends. Are students experiencing mental health issues, or is this an excuse to bring their pets on campus?
An emotional support animal (ESA) offers benefits to those with some form of a disability whether it be a physical, mental or emotional disability. Emotional Support Animals or ESAs are also referred to as support animals and these are not specifically trained to perform tasks. ESA’s are different from a regular pet, therapy animal or a service animal, but are commonly dogs or cats which is why it could be hard to distinguish between a pet, a therapy animal, a service animal or an ESA.
Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), colleges are required to allow service animals and assistance animals, including emotional support animals, in campus housing. Emotional support animals can be almost any type of animal. At Missouri Western there are dogs, cats, a rabbit, a teddy bear hamster and a bearded dragon, which is similar to a lizard. Research has shown that animals can provide a significant amount of mental health benefits such as trauma support, improved physical health, less anxiety, reciprocal of care and love and fewer feelings of loneliness.
How can a student’s mental health affect their performance in school?
The academic, social and financial pressures placed on individuals between the ages of 18-24 are a massive trigger for a wide range of conditions. Studies show that college students would rate their mental health below average or poor and majority of them feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a student. Studies also indicate that the rise of anxiety for college students is a result of struggling in school.
Tim Kissock, risk manager for Missouri Western for over 15 years, says that college students struggling with mental health issues suffer from lack of sleep, choosing to remove oneself from friends and more.
“If you’re having emotional issues nothing else is going to work,” Kissock said. “Not your school work, social life and our number one goal is for students to succeed.”
Brett Howery, a senior here at Missouri Western, has had a dog for years, but last spring he decided to get Caesar, his dog, registered as an emotional support animal. Howery noticed his time management skills were decreasing. He would forget to check canvas and as a journalism major he would forget interviews or push them off until the last second. He saw that he was losing friendships, integrity and experiencing depression and anxiety.
Why is there an increasing number of emotional support animals at colleges and universities? What role does the COVID-19 pandemic play in students feeling lonely?
According to an article about the intersection of COVID-19 and mental health, even under normal circumstances, good mental health is crucial. During a pandemic, however, it can affect how we respond and recover. Before COVID-19, mental health conditions were prevalent, accounting for about 13% of the global burden of disease.
“I think we’ve seen a definite uptake in mental health problems,” Kissock said. “ This COVID has heightened anxiety across the board: students, faculty, staff and myself. COVID, in that regard, has done nothing good”.
Josh Maples, the interim director of Residential Life at Western is trained in mental health first aid. Josh along with Amanda Quenemoen, residential life coordinator for Vartebedian, Juda and Beshears Hall, are the first responders in situations of mental health and students on campus and strive to get them the help they need.
“For some students it has increased anxiety, for others it means mourning the loss of what once was because nothing’s the same anymore,” Maples said. “I definitely think that had a big impact on the mental health of our students today and also the applications for ESAs”.
For the 2018-2019 school year, Missouri Western only had five registered emotional support animals on campus. However, last year for the 2019-2020 school year the number increased to 15 registered ESAs. This year during the 2020-2021 school year there are 13, but there may be more once the spring semester starts in January of 2021.
How do campuses and administrators determine whether or not a student is approved for an ESA on campus?
Missouri Western has a committee of faculty that are responsible for determining if a student should be allowed an emotional support animal during the school year. Students must complete the five page ESA application to its entirety in order for a decision to be made. More times than not, a student does get approved to have an emotional support animal.
Josh Maples and Tim Kissock are both on the committee team to approve or disapprove students having emotional support animals. When looking at this as a committee, personal views are set aside and the team looks to see if all the documents make sense. It’s not as easy as saying any student that wants one can bring them in. There are several verification documents students must provide to example their need for an emotional support animal. A statement from the student on how the Emotional Support Animal affords them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the residence hall is required along with an agreement letter from the student’s suitemates that they are fine with the animal living with them. Most importantly, verification of the student’s disability by their attending physician, psychiatrist or other mental health profession must be provided.
What are potential resources outside of ESAs?
Aside from animals, other ways people have tried to cope with things such as anxiety or depression are mobile apps. According to an article published October 2020 on college student engagement with mental health apps, “Between 2007 to 2017, students who had sought treatment within the past year increased from 19% to 34% with college counseling centers standing out as the most common location for students to access mental health services.”
“Mental health mobile apps have rapidly emerged as a possible resource to provide widely accessible and affordable care, especially on college campuses.” A study of popular mental health apps with over 10,000 downloads found that user retention was only about 4% two weeks after the initial download. The core reasons for low engagement and utilization of these mobile apps are unknown, but how can we increase the utilization of these apps?
“I’m a big fan of meditation apps,” Maples said. “They are quick and very soothing. It’s very interperspective about controlling your breathing because when you’re anxious, you really lose control of your breathing so it’s keeping that in control”.
How is Missouri Western helping the situation?
If a person is curious about getting an emotional support animal, but is unsure if an animal is what they need, try a therapy animal first instead. With an emotional support animal, their job is to focus on their handler and it is up to the handlers whether or not that animal has interaction with other individuals. Unlike an emotional support animal, a therapy animal is here to interact with members of the public no matter who it is.
Dr. Melinda Kovacs, associate professor of the political science department at Western has volunteered with therapy animals since 2006, typically in a nursing home. Dr. Kovacs arrived at Missouri Western in the fall of 2012 and in the spring of 2014, she got approved to bring therapy animals on campus during finals week after talking with several people, one being Tim Kissock.
“Because they are so loving and so selfless and pure, they decrease anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate, they are pretty perfect when it comes to college students going through the trauma that is basically finals every semester. So that’s the motivation behind wanting to start a program like that,” Kovacs explained.
Starting in the spring of 2014, there were 96 attendees for this event to spend time with therapy animals. In the fall of the 2018 school year there were 134 attendees and that spring of 2019, 105 attended. Though it appears that bringing therapy animals on campus is desired by students on campus, for the 2020-2021 school Dr. Kovacs had to make the decision to not bring the therapy animals on campus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but hopefully next year this program can continue on.
This school year, Missouri Western has started incorporating a way to check in on students without physical interaction with automated text messages. Throughout the semester students have received text messages from Max the Griffon asking them how the semester is going and Howery appreciated those messages.
“ I told them about what’s going on this semester and since then I’ve gotten multiple calls from people at the campus about how to improve on things, Howery said. “I think normally they (Missouri Western) are good, but this semester they’ve been pretty great on reaching out and trying to find out what’s going on mentally in students’ lives and seeing where they can help.
Faculty and staff at Western are not required, but encouraged to take training classes where they can help identify when students are going through a crisis. All campus police officers have attended mental health first aid classes so they can identify when they are dealing with someone who is mentally ill or dealing with something versus somebody who is just being belligerent.
Aspects from all areas of campus meet once every week as the Behavioral Intervention Team to discuss care plans for students who need long term support. Both Josh Maples and Tim Kissock are a part of that team along with several other faculty members such as Hannah Piechowski, Dean of Students; Adam McGowan, the chair of the behavioral interventions team and title IX coordinator; and Jill Voltmer, Missouri Western’s police chief.
Even before getting his dog registered as an ESA, Howery felt the counseling center was a big help in his process in increasing his mental health to more positive levels. During school hours, the counseling center is always available to students to seek help with not just mental health issues, but any issues they are battling. Potter says he deals with students that struggle with their mental health every single day, but that’s why he and other counselors are there, to help.
After hours it seems like the only option for students to seek help would be an emergency or hospital or an outside therapist that is on call. However, the National Crisis Helpline provided by Missouri Western is a resource students can use. This is a free option for students to talk with someone either on the phone or through text if they’re having a depressive episode.
Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean mental illness doesn’t exist. The stigma around mental health has greatly decreased. It’s an open conversation now which is good and the less stigmatized mental health issues become, the more people will feel comfortable with sharing their issues so that we as people are more aware. “It’s about being observant. Maples expressed. “We all have that gut feeling when we’re talking with a friend and something isn’t right. To be confident and comfortable to say, “Hey tell me what’s going on so I can support you or be here for you to vent to” and being brave enough to do that as a friend, I think is one of the most important things we can do”.
If you, a friend or loved one is having troubles with your mental health, don’t be afraid to reach out to someone. Though there are people going through the same things you are, there are even more people that are willing and trained to help than you know. Don’t suffer in silence.
Service Dogs Program
Shawn Pederson, Army Sgt. First Class Chuck Stewart and Senior Master Sgt. Diana Trevino — it is these honorable servicemen and woman and many others like them that are deserving of our salute today.
All across the country, veterans are being honored on this annual Veterans Day, Nov. 11. At a 10-acre plot of ground in Lenoir City, a new training facility is being unveiled that will provide helpful companions for those veterans coming home with physical and/or psychological challenges due to their service to country. Smoky Mountain Service Dogs held its grand opening ceremony Nov. 2 in Lenoir City on its $1.3 million facility that will allow this nonprofit to continue its mission of training mobility assistance service dogs to U.S. veterans at no cost to them. Due to COVID-19, the ceremony to unveil the Veteran/Canine Training Center wasn’t open to the public.Pederson, Stewart and Trevino are three of the 40 veterans who have received dogs from the organization so far. Founders are Mike and Suzy Kitchens; Mike is a Vietnam veteran and Suzy is a graduate of Everett High Schools, born and raised in Maryville.
The trained canines have names like Cade, Dagger, Spirit, Nitro, Dolly and Gauge. Four-footed heroes with wet noses some recipients have said.
After two and a half years of planning, fundraising and building, SMSD is moving from its original 1,000-square-foot home and into one with 7,500-square-feet and state-of-the-art equipment.
The facility includes an area where meetings can be held, office space for SMSD’s trainers and program manager, large dining/meeting space and most importantly, training space and 18 kennels for housing the dogs. The property also allows for five exercise yards. While a grand opening ceremony was held Nov. 2, the dogs will be moving in sometime around the end of November.
The veterans who are accepted into the program come here for training with their dogs. During this pandemic, Program Manager Heather Wilkerson devised an online educational program to cut down on in-person time. Training with the veterans lasts for two weeks.
Sometimes it’s the little things that bring the most joy, like having a dog grooming area complete with commercial washer and dryer and a bath tub. A high pressure water system will allow for sanitizing the kennels. All inside will be comfortable with air conditioning and heating. This new facility also has a medical exam room.
Each time a veteran and his or her dog completes the program, SMSD holds a passing of the leash ceremony for all who played a part in the successful training. In past years, the ceremonies have been held at a church in Tellico Village, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. The ceremonies are now being held at the new SMSD facility, Suzy Kitchens said. It is a more intimate setting with fewer people, she explained. All of this is done with only five paid staff members: Program Manager Heather Wilkerson, trainers Susan Randall, Cassie Krause, Laura Porter and facilities manager Darrell Wilkerson. Suzy Kitchens volunteers as veterans liaison. Mike Kitchens is volunteer chair.
The Kitchens founded the nonprofit in 2010 and placed its first dog in 2013.
On a recent day, Randall was training one of the golden retrievers, Hondo, in the new kennel. SMSD gets puppies when they are only 8 weeks old. Training takes two to three years. Puppy raisers assist with initial behavior training before the certified trainers take over.
“We train six to seven a year,” Suzy Kitchens said. “We have hit that mark every year for quite some time. Now with our new place, we can do 10 to 12 dogs per year.”
The cost of the training is $25,000 per dog, she added. They mostly use Labrador Retrievers.
Because SMSD is a regional facility, it provides service dogs to veterans across eight states. It is one of 70 nationally accredited service dog organizations in the U.S. and one of 185 internationally, Kitchens said.
Accreditation must be done every five years, and this was SMSD’s year. The onsite inspection was held days ago. “We passed with flying colors,” Kitchens said. She said being accredited is important because the VA has a service dog benefits program. Those benefits are only given to veterans who have dogs trained by an accredited member, she explained.
Fence building was being completed this week. Darrell Wilkerson said the original completion date for this project wasn’t met due to weather and other setbacks. The groundbreaking, he said, was held in May 2019.“The trainers were working in an area that was the size of one of these rooms,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming but this is huge.”
Suzy Kitchens was quick to point out none of this could have been done without the help of Blount County and others. Altar’d State, headquartered in Maryville, funded the kennels and has its name on the facility. The conference room is named for the late Gary Lindsey, an avid fisherman who resided in Blount County. Several other partners have come into this circle to help, Kitchens said.
The large volunteer base is crucial, too. Kitchens said they have 170 who donate their time.
Over the years, Kitchens has heard back from veterans about what it means to have a canine companion on those bad days. Depression can set in. Physical limitations can be overwhelming. Kitchens said one Vietnam veteran had all but given up.
Before he got his service dog, he didn’t think he would live beyond a year or two, Kitchens said. “He told me, ‘After I got my dog, I wanted to live life more than I ever have.’”
Another veteran told Kitchens about having nightmares. He said his service dog inched his way closer and closer to him until he awoke out of the nightmare, even licking his sweat.
It’s now time to focus on the future and what SMSD will be able to do for more of this country’s veterans, Kitchens said, looking around at what has been accomplished.
“Now that we have built this, the mission continues with our sustaining partners,” Kitchens said. “We have achieved our goal of building a new facility and now we can sustain the mission.”
Service Dogs Help Warriors
Yakima resident Albert Navarro served for four years in the U.S. Navy, was stationed in the Washington, D.C., area following Sept. 11, and completed two tours of the Persian Gulf before receiving an honorable discharge.
Despite the post-traumatic stress he picked up from his service, Navarro said he was able to get back to a type of civilian life he considered “normal.” He and his wife even had a child on the way.
But when the couple’s infant son died shortly after birth, Navarro and his wife struggled to cope with the loss. He suggested they try counseling, and so found himself in a VA Hospital waiting room, thumbing through a brochure left on a nearby table that he had no intention of actually reading.
The trick was to “look busy.” If he looked busy, then that would signal to other people to not engage, to not start a conversation, to leave him alone. Navarro used the trick frequently, in any waiting room, line or situation where he was around other people and otherwise unoccupied.
The comment from his social worker, at the end of his session, therefore caught him off guard. “Maybe a service dog would help.”
When he asked about the comment, the social worker pointed out he had been paging through the brochure on service dogs while waiting for the appointment. Navarro said he and his wife had talked about getting a dog during the pregnancy. He didn’t believe his random choice of reading material was a coincidence.
He went online and started learning more about Service Peace Warriors, a nonprofit organization based in Eltopia, a community about 15 miles north of Pasco, that connects honorably discharged military personnel coping with PTSD in Washington state with certified service dogs, free of charge.
Service Peace Warriors is how Ranger, a German shepherd/shar-pei mix, joined the Navarros’ lives. Navarro said there were days before Ranger when he didn’t want to get out of bed. Now, Navarro knows he has to get up, feed Ranger and take him for a walk. Ranger accompanies him “practically everywhere,” he said.
“The military teaches you how to be a service member, but they don’t teach you how to be a civilian again,” Navarro said. “(With Ranger) I’ve learned to get out a little bit more, to accept that he’ll tell me if we need to go. He’s not a pet. He’s a working dog, and he’s family.”
Service Peace Warriors has trained and connected about 50 dogs to veterans over the last seven years, including about 18 dogs this year. Three are with veterans living in Yakima.
“These veterans often have suffered beyond our understanding and are deserving of our support,” the Service Peace Warriors website notes. “These dogs open up a new world to them that they didn’t know they could have. With trauma issues, it is a gift to have the company of a dog who provides unconditional, loving companionship.”
The healing journey for Mary Mattox, who founded Service Peace Warriors, also involved a canine companion.
Mattox was born in New Zealand and moved to the United States when she was 17 years old. She has complex PTSD. She experienced more than a decade of abuse, first at the hands of a violent and controlling mother, then while in various placements in the foster care system. For years, not knowing what post-traumatic stress disorder was, she struggled to understand her trauma. She found a sense of comfort working with sheep dogs, farm animals, and then the first service dog she trained for herself.
Mattox describes Cloud, the German shepherd who came into her life in 2013, as the first warrior dog who led the way for all the other dogs she has since trained. When Cloud was about 6 months old, Mattox suffered from a major attack of PTSD that temporarily left her both blind and deaf. Cloud helped guide Mattox to her husband, who rushed her to the emergency room. The doctors told her they were surprised her blood pressure levels hadn’t led to a stroke.
“He was a big gentleman, our Cloud,” she said, “and he opened the doors for all this to happen, because he saved my life.”
Mattox trains Service Peace Warrior dogs to perform specific tasks, such as waking up veterans in the midst of night terrors, getting help from bystanders in a store if a veteran starts to have an episode, or standing behind a veteran in line so that no one will come up and startle the person.
The dogs can be trained to remind veterans to eat or take medicines, and to climb into their laps if veterans are starting to get depressed or anxious. They also are good listeners for veterans who may not be able to otherwise share their troubles with family members or close friends, Mattox added.
“Dogs are the most loyal creatures on God’s Earth,” Mattox said. “They’ll comfort you when needed. They’ll give their lives for you if needed. They give you a sense of security.”
Any veteran matched with a Service Peace Warrior dog goes through a thorough process. To be eligible, veterans have to have been honorably discharged and have PTSD from their service. They also go through an interview process with Mattox and an initial meeting with several dogs to make sure both feel a connection.
“We are very strict about how we do things,” Mattox said. “When we give a dog to a veteran, he really needs to be in need. And I like to see some interaction, to make sure it’s a good match. If the dog picks you, you get a better bond.” While canine Cloud helped start Mattox on a path to healing herself and others, she’s had to continue the work without him. A driver who was texting and driving ran over Cloud in September 2019, a loss Mattox still feels deeply.
It’s now the organization, her service dogs and the veterans they help that help Mattox get out of bed in the mornings.
That same sense of purpose resonates with Navarro. On a chilly day in November, he demonstrated canine training he’s done with Ranger in a warm and well-lit room in his home in Yakima. His daily routines and connection with Ranger have helped reestablish a sense of normalcy in his life.
“I’m not saying you forget the things you’ve been through,” he said. “But they start to go to the back burner.”
Navarro absolutely recommends that dog-loving veterans struggling with PTSD reach out for a service dog.
“While faith is a very important part of my life, and family and friends are a big reason that I am still here, Ranger has helped me a lot,” he said. “A dog won’t judge you. That’s the simplest way I can explain it.”
Mattox encouraged veterans struggling with PTSD and in need of a trained canine companion to start the process — to pick up the phone and call for more information or jump on the website and learn more. Staff is willing to help make the application process as simple as possible, she added.
“If you think they’re too far gone …” She paused. “We’ve had numerous ones that have walked right off suicide watch, who made it six months or a year without even receiving the dog because they knew they had something to look forward to. They are never too far gone.”
Training And Rehabilitation Service
A local military veteran has transformed his passion for working with dogs into his own pet therapy business.
Enrique Marquez, who served in the United States Army, founded his dog training and rehabilitation company, Dogworx, in 2016.
He says his military career took him all over the world, including Kosovo and Iraq. Marquez’s time in the Army eventually brought him to the Savannah area, and he loved it so much that he decided to stay.
“I think it was a good place to kind of have a fresh start,” the entrepreneur told WSAV NOW.
Marquez says he’s always had a knack for working with dogs and volunteered as a dog catcher on his time off from the Army.
“Even my family members saw that whenever I interacted with a dog, it was just an instant connection, and the dog just followed me everywhere,” Marquez said. “The military was what really brought out that passion in me to the point where I saw that this is something that I could do every day.”
He says following his deployments, he encountered some personal struggles.
“My life was out of control, and when I came back, my dog was the thing that kept me in balance,” Marquez said.
“I was very close to making some bad choices when it comes to those feelings, and my dog kind of shifted my mind around on that,” he said.
Wanting to return the favor to his beloved pet, he says he worked to better train his Belgian Malinois to be more well-behaved.
“I realized that a lot of those techniques were able to be transferred onto humans, so I used them all myself,” Marquez shared, adding, “In essence, as I was training my dog, I was healing myself, I was finding answers for the problems that I had, I found different ways to go about things.”
These experiences led him to found Dogworx, allowing him to serve as a life coach and trainer for both dogs and their owners.
Marquez’s goal is to work with puppies and adult dogs that have behavioral issues, including aggression, anxiety and basic manners.
“A lot of it is really just teaching them how to make better choices, that’s really it,” Marquez said, adding that the time it trains each dog comes down to the individual animal.
“If they don’t know what the right thing to do is, how can they do that for you?” he asked.
“Once they understand that you don’t have to be aggressive to get your food, you don’t have to break the windows because there’s a thunderstorm happening, there’s a better way to do this, dogs will always pick the better choice,” Marquez said. “Once they understand that, it’s smooth sailing.”
He notes that many behaviors that people observe in their dogs are a reflection of what’s going on in their own lives.
“If your dog is aggressive, that means there’s something going on in the family that is causing that reaction, or the dog is anxious, fearful, there is a reason that’s happening,” Marquez said.
He says social media sites like Instagram and Facebook have played a large role in growing his Savannah business beyond the Coastal Empire.
Marquez tells WSAV NOW that clients as far away as California and the United Kingdom have reached out to him for his dog therapy services.
Facebook also invited him to speak at its headquarters in 2019 for the company’s business leader’s summit.
“I was super lucky, it was a great experience,” Marquez said.
“I got to share not only my story, but the lessons that I learned along the way on how to use Facebook and Instagram, not to make sales, but to connect with people,” he said.
The dog trainer says he wants to encourage pet owners that there is hope for even the worst-behaved pet owners.
“Even though it may seem like there’s nothing that can be done, there are people that know how to help not only your dog but also help you and your family so you can all enjoy your life together,” Marquez said. “I’ve devoted my life to it.”
Visiting The Vet
Sundance, an 8-year-old Golden Retriever, had been increasingly lethargic over the last few days and not eating well, a dramatic change from his usual disposition and appetite. It was a Thursday, my day to cover emergencies for most of the other Island veterinary practices. Unlike “normal” years on the Vineyard, when we would all be winding down by now and recovering from the pressures of the summer season, in autumn 2020 your veterinarians are still coping with summer levels of animals, all while practicing curbside, socially distancing, and working with reduced staffing. So I may have been a little abrupt on the phone that morning when his owners called. I reeled off the details about emergency fees and our no-contact drop-off protocol, and offered an appointment time.
His owner hesitated. Sundance’s regular vet had no available appointments for weeks. It’s hard enough to trust a doctor you’ve never met without the added stress of not being able to go into the vet office with your pet. The idea of waiting in the car in the parking lot while a beloved pet disappears inside is understandably daunting. “He seems uncomfortable around his mouth and he’s just not himself,” his dad said. I could hear the concern in his voice and tried to respond in kind. After a bit more conversation and reassurances, we scheduled for Sundance to come right down.
When my assistant brought Sunny into the exam room, he seemed pretty perky. I offered him a liver treat. He ate it happily. I gave him one more. He swallowed it without chewing. I tossed one in the air. Unlike most big dogs, he did not catch it mid-air. He did not even attempt to catch it, but once it hit the floor, he retrieved it gingerly and ate it. I continued my exam. Sundance had a low grade but significant fever. Everything else appeared normal. Then I tried to gently open his mouth. Ouch. That hurt.
One of the most common causes of pain on opening the mouth in dogs is a “retrobulbar abscess,” an infection inside the tissues way in the back of the mouth. It’s hard to explain without diagrams. Put your finger on the side of your face where your top and bottom jaw hinge together. Now imagine that right behind that spot, deep inside, an infection is causing a pocket of pus to build up. With no way to drain, the pus pushes up into the space behind the eyeball — hence the term “retro,” meaning behind and “bulbar” meaning bulb or ball. Every time you open your mouth, it squeezes that abscess. That hurts. Other signs associated with retrobulbar abscess may include swelling around the eye, bulging eye, third eyelid protrusion, ocular discharge, conjunctivitis, fever, and lethargy. Treatment starts with antibiotics and pain medication. If things don’t improve, the next step is anesthesia and surgically exploring the area to try to locate the abscess, lance, and drain it. But there was another possible diagnosis for Sundance’s pain. Masticatory Muscle Myositis, also known as MMM. This is an odd autoimmune syndrome in which the dog’s own immune system attacks special muscle strands called 2M fibers found in the masseter and temporalis muscles on the head. Those are the muscles for chewing. No one knows why MMM occurs. At first, the muscles may swell and sometimes are painful to touch, but the most common presenting sign is simply sudden onset of pain on opening the mouth. MMM is most common in young to middle-aged large breed dogs, with higher incidence in Labrador and Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers, Weimaraners, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Definitive diagnosis requires either a muscle biopsy or a special blood test called a Type 2M muscle autoantibody test, which is positive in about 80 percent of MM cases. When I was a wet-behind-the-ears senior student in clinical rotations in veterinary school, I was sent into an exam room to work up a middle-aged large dog who had been playing Frisbee with his owner the day before. The dog now had marked pain on opening his mouth. His owner proposed that the dog had hurt himself from repeatedly leaping up and catching the Frisbee mid-air. Made sense to me. I went and happily presented the case to my professor and classmates at Medicine Rounds . . . where I was quickly and soundly berated by a disdainful clinician for missing my first case of Masticatory Muscle Myositis. I sent Sundance home with antibiotics, analgesic anti-inflammatory medication, and a presumptive diagnosis of retrobulbar abscess, but I also told his owner about my experience almost 40 years ago with the Frisbee-catching dog. There’s nothing like being publicly humiliated in front of one’s peers to assure you will never again forget a particular disease. “Sundance is the right age and breed for MMM,” I told his dad. “If he doesn’t respond to these medications within five to seven days, have him rechecked and tested.”
It’s important to diagnose MMM early and begin treatment promptly with immunosuppressive drugs such as corticosteroids like prednisone. Left untreated, acute MMM becomes chronic. Muscles undergo fibrosis and atrophy, and inability to open the mouth may become permanent and largely irreversible. With prompt treatment, most dogs improve within the first week but may require medications for many months or even lifelong. Stopping therapy too soon increases risk of recurrence. Patients who do not respond adequately to prednisone may need other more aggressive immunosuppressants.
I checked in with Sundance’s family by email this week. Sunny has responded well to the antibiotics and pain medications and seems completely back to normal. He has a follow-up recheck scheduled with his regular veterinarian soon. With this information, it is unlikely he has Masticatory Muscle Myositis. He probably had a retrobulbar abscess, which can occur from something as simple as chewing on sticks. Or perhaps there had been some other type of injury. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I forgot to ask if Sundance had been playing Frisbee.
