From pups to healers: Companions change wounded warriors' lives
Tuesday - 12/2/2014, 3:38am ET
From one wounded warrior to another
WTOP's Darci Marchese reports
WASHINGTON -- Can a furry, four-legged creature really help save a life? Many wounded warriors and their spouses say, "yes."
It's in part thanks to the Warrior Canine Connection. The pioneering program enlists recovering wounded service members to train service dogs for fellow wounded members.
Rick Yount, a social worker of nearly 30 years, came up with the concept.
Yount jokes that 19 years ago, a golden retriever trained him -- and taught him the value of dog therapy. He realized many wounded warriors were in desperate need of the love and help provided by service dogs and thought the training could be used as an intervention, helping wounded warriors train the dogs at the same time.
"Who else would take the responsibility of training a service dog for a veteran more seriously, and more to heart, than a fellow veteran or warrior?" he asks.
The Training
WTOP caught up with trainers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last spring.
That's where we met three energetic puppies and the wounded warriors helping train them to become full-service mobility dogs.
Black Labrador retriever brothers Sam and Indy were 16 months old then, and Penny, a golden retriever, was just 10 months old -- the "baby" of the group.
Over a two-year period, the dogs had to master 60 skills and tasks and meet other strict temperament and health requirements. A dog that's overly aggressive or anxious or tends to bark wouldn't make the cut.
Not every dog makes it, but Sam, Indy and Penny prevailed.
Graduation Day
With a lot of military-style pomp and circumstance, Sam, Indy and Penny, along with three other dogs, graduated on Oct. 25, becoming full-service mobility dogs. Their tails wagged as they crossed the stage, but as usual, all three kept their composure.
It was an emotional ceremony as the dogs transitioned from the "puppy parents" who've looked after them since birth to their new forever homes.
It's a bittersweet goodbye for many families, but an emotional and satisfying transition.
The dogs have been paired with wounded service members who applied to the program and were left with physical and mental wounds from war.
Here's a video of Sam, Penny and Indy being presented on graduation day:
Indy's New Human Companion
"He's going to be so much help for me and I just can't wait," says U.S. Army Retired Captain Jason Pak, 25, a West Point graduate, who's been paired up with Indy.
He saw his life change in an instant in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2012.
"I was on dismounted foot patrol, a typical, routine mission, and stepped on a 10-pound IED (improvised explosive device). It instantly took both of my legs off. I'm a below-the-knee amputee on the left, an above-the-knee amputee on the right, and missing a couple of fingers on my left hand," Pak says.
After a year and nine months of grueling rehabilitation at Walter Reed, a friend told him about the Warrior Canine Connection service dog program.
"When I first met Indy, there was an instant connection -- love at first sight," Pak says.
The large, strong, black Lab provides the stability Pak needs as a double amputee while he still struggles with his new prosthetics.
Indy helps Pak with his balance through a technique known as "bracing."
"He serves as a cane, in a way," Pak explains. "When I'm on the ground and I need to try to get up, I tell him, 'Indy brace' and that way I can apply pressure on his shoulder blades and he will actually brace to that, and kind of lift me up a little bit."
The bracing also helps Pak use stairs when there isn't a railing to hold onto. Indy also picks up anything Pak may drop, such as keys or his cellphone.
The two are inseparable.
"He's a great companion. Everywhere I go, he can go with me. He's kind of my best friend," Pak says with a big smile on his face.
The two recently moved into a condominium in Southeast D.C. Pak says Indy is a "people magnet" and they are adjusting easily and making new friends.
Penny's New Human Companion
Retired Marine Corporal Nickolas Gervasoni couldn't be happier to welcome Penny into his life.
While Gervasoni was serving in the Marine Corps in 2012 in Afghanistan, he seriously injured his back and plunged into darkness from anxiety and depression.
"A year ago, I would not be here whatsoever," Gervasoni says. "I wouldn't be out in a public place like this. I wouldn't even think about it. I was cooped up in my house pretty much night and day unless I was going to medical appointments."
During his therapy, he started working at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital with the service dog program. He decided to put in an application through the Warrior Canine Connection and was introduced to Penny.
"She pretty much can do anything you can think of," he says. "She retrieves items, she cuddles with me at night," he says with a giggle. He admits he has a much easier time sleeping these days.
His wife, Jennifer, says she's amazed by the transformation.
"The biggest change is that he actually sleeps through the night without having nightmares," she says.
She's thrilled to have her husband back.
"Just going grocery shopping; he hasn't been shopping with me for two years, so to even walk in the door is amazing. He's more concerned about Penny [than] himself," she says.
Nick Gervasoni says the icing on the cake is that Penny even gets along with their aging cat, Shadow, in their Northern Virginia home.
"This morning, they jumped up on the bed together and Shadow the cat came over and gave her a kiss on the forehead ... can't ask for any more than that," he jokes.
Penny, by the way, is famous in her own right. She has nearly 5,000 "likes" on her own Facebook page.
Sam's New Human Companion
For these two big guys, life is good now.
Sam, a sturdy black Lab, is a lifesaver for Lt. Thomas Faulkenberry, of the U.S. Coast Guard.
"I've been able to connect with my family in ways that I never have before," Faulkenberry says.
Enlisted in 1999, Faulkenberry deployed aboard his ship 11 times, serving all over the world, including in Afghanistan and helping out in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
During his final deployment, Faulkenberry was badly injured during life- endangering search and rescue dive operations. He was left with chronic muscle-pain issues and was diagnosed with a rare disease.
"I lost my ability to exercise. When I would exercise, my kidneys would shut down and I'd be hospitalized," he says adding, "that, in turn led to major depression."
During rehabilitation at Walter Reed, Faulkenberry started to work with the service dogs when he realized how helpful they were to his recovery.
He was able to get off of some medications and began to feel better.
Faulkenberry, a big burly guy over six feet tall, applied for a service dog of his own.
"It just so happened that Sam was in need of a partner, and he's a big strong guy, and they needed to place him with someone who could handle him, so it worked out very well for us," he says.
Faulkenberry says Sam brought a calmness to him and his family, though he can't really explain how a dog has had such an impact. But he has one idea.
"It's a perfect design of love. It's unconditional. He doesn't see my flaws," he says.
His wife, Mary, is experiencing the magic, too. "He's been such a blessing to our family. Not only to Tommy but to our whole family."
She says they felt the impact of Sam's presence immediately. "The first night Sam was with us, Tommy slept through the night and was refreshed. That's something that is kind of unexpected," she says in awe.
The couple lives near Warrenton, Virginia, with their four boys, ages 6 through 12.
"The boys love Sam," Mary says, joking they now have something new to fight over.
Naming the dogs
Each dog that graduates and becomes a healer for a human through the Warrior Canine Connection gets its name in a very special way.
Yount, executive director of the WCC, says each dog is named after a service member killed in action.
Yount says the family of the lost service member gives its permission for their son's or daughter's name to be given to a service dog, and says it's another powerful and rewarding part of the program.
Yount hopes to see the WCC expand even further and says anyone who wants to help can offer their time, services or financial support.
Learn more about how you can help the Wounded Warrior Connection.
Check out a live WCC puppy cam, with puppies born Thanksgiving Day:
Read more:
http://www.wtop.com/41/3749664/From-pups-to-healers-Companions-change-wounded-warriors-lives#ixzz3KjlY4tqm
