FEATURE
HEALING PAWS
WARRIOR CANINE CONNECTION HELPS PROVIDE RECOVERY THROUGH SERVICE DOGS
by Beth Bourgeois
Tommy Faulkenberry will openly tell you that he contem- plated stepping in front of a train. He had left the house intending to commit suicide that day but instead, thank- fully, he checked himself into the hospital. He knew his head wasn’t right. Having previously served in the Coast Guard, Tommy
spent 16 years in many roles including cutterman, construc- tion, diver special operations, and search and rescue, among others. His identity could best be summed up in two words: bad ass. But a rare muscle disorder changed all of that and pre- vented him from being able to do what he loved; to be who he was. He wrestled with depression, his identity and the future. While under care at Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center (WRNMMC), every Tursday he would see a group bring dogs into the hospital for training by other patients. “Tere I was, despondent, and then I see this dog, and it
immediately brightened up my day,” says Tommy. “I asked to get involved, and soon, it was what I was living for.”
18
www.hqafsa.org Te group was Warrior Canine Connection (WCC),
a nonprofit that enlists injured service members to train service dogs for their fellow wounded Veterans. Patients with combat stress don’t typically receive a service dog from WCC, but instead train one to assist another Veteran with invisible and physical wounds. Shortly after Tommy got involved with the program, he
says the combination of helping to train a dog, along with his therapy sessions, helped to get him back on track. “I literally started to heal from the inside out,” says
Tommy. “I will never forget, after only one week of starting the program with WCC, my son remarked that I ‘didn’t seem so angry anymore,’ which was telling.” WCC’s program not only creates valuable service dogs,
it harnesses the healing power of the Warrior Ethos and the human-animal bond. WCC Founder and Executive Director Rick Yount says the program is designed to trigger power- ful mind/body effects in our Warrior trainers that reduce the symptoms of combat trauma.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
