I am not sure if you have ever heard of fur therapy, but basically it is using of some sort of animal to bring comfort to those in need. For example when you have a bad day and your adorable animal meets you as you walk through the door and just says I know you need to love on me to feel better...they have actually done studies that show that animals can lower your blood pressure from just petting them. They also take animals on hospital floors to those who are bed ridden and have found they tend to help the patient feel better.
Why am I telling you about this? Well because I have been blessed by the amazing people at Battle
Buddies of Central Oregon. You see this was a passion of Shawn's when he found out about them, they take vets who have been suffering from different medical conditions and help assist them in training of service dogs. They tend to focus on those who not only need help physically but for things like anxiety and PTSD. Shawn even had his baby that he was taking through the program. I am sure many of you have seen the pictures of him with the big black dog, that is Tip and he was so proud of her and the safety and security she gave him. It was so nice as he was training to watch him in stores and instead of being in a constant state of panic he was able to relax and focus on her and let her focus on everything else.
Of course there is more to this. You see I have been trying to find a purpose now that my life is no longer what I had planned. Seeing Tipper suffer from the trauma of losing her human and the fact that there are so many out there suffering from trauma's that an animal might help them through gave me hope. After much research, some helping hands and a lot of support I have decided to go down the path of becoming a dog trainer. I found an amazing school with the help of some other people, and my main goal when I am done getting my certification is to not only help train these animals for vets in whatever capacity they need but to help civilians as well. PTSD isn't just a military thing, yes I think most of the people I have met with it are military but I know I have it and it has been since I was a teenager.
Also I have been blessed to see how amazing this fur therapy is for other vets. You see I am able to be fortunate enough to volunteer with BBCO and the trainer helping set these animals and their owners up for success. I was able this last Saturday to take the time to get to know the current class of vets, and even though I don't know all their suffering and stories I was able to find comfort in the fact that these people are amazing. I talked to one vet who so reminded me of Shawn, that had not only worked in the medical field but that in watching him train I saw the same fights that Shawn had when he was having a bad day. That training helped get his mind off things and make him able to focus on something other than his panic attack. To listen to how this program has helped them learn that they are not alone and that they can possibly find success from an animal to make them feel as normal as possible again.
I actually took the time to come out of my comfort shell that I have found protecting me when I am out of my cave, and felt peace from these people. It gives me hope that I am not alone in dealing with demons that suck to be there, and it gives me hope that I am working towards finding ways to not only help myself, my Tipper, but others as well.
So the next time you are having a long day if you have pets, take time to just scratch them behind the ears, or cuddle up with them and your favorite tv show, you will be surprised at how amazing they make you feel.
No comments:
Post a Comment