Little dog with a big heart

The brave individuals who wear the cloth of this great nation deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. Many struggle with the invisible psychiatric wounds of an unconventional and terrifying war. They bore witness to horrific suffering and unspeakable abuses that are beyond ordinary citizens’ ability to comprehend. Many are alone, feel dismissed and isolated. Some feel a continuous sense of shame and worthlessness. Their injuries include depression, panic attacks, fixations on their missions, sleeplessness, nightmares, anxiety, impaired social functioning, traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder and amputations, paralysis, and other operational stress injuries. Many of our veterans’ lives can be saved and tremendously improved with a specially trained service dog.

Meet soon-to-be service dog Skittles. She is a six month-old Amaley Sheltie puppy with an extraordinary purpose. She is ready and waiting to commit her life to a veteran, who has given some of the best years of his/her life in the service of Canada and returned home with severe operational-related wounds and disabilities. Skittles will soon be in the service of someone who will cherish her for her entire life as she devotes herself to the welfare of one of Canada’s best.

Skittles was born in Manitoba on June 14, 2014. She is intelligent, has a beautiful disposition and is exceedingly gentle and friendly. She started her service dog training when she was six weeks old and is being trained to Level 3, which is the highest standard and the most complex training done by Courageous Companions dog trainers. She will be paired with a veteran with multiple disabilities which could include missing limbs, seizures, debilitating anxiety, brain trauma, vision and hearing impairment, or severe psychological injuries.

Meghan Search and Rescue, a training standards organization, and Courageous Companions (courageouscompanions.ca), a non-profit organization supporting veterans, are training Skittles to provide psychiatric support, deliberately disobey and redirect the veteran’s negative behavior, prevent or interrupt emotional overload, awaken the veteran from nightmares, provide a calming effect, do crowd control and panic prevention in public, arouse the veteran from fear or disassociating episodes, assist a veteran to leave an area by finding an exit, identify danger and hazards that a veteran may not be aware of, help the veteran to feel calm in congested space by expanding the space, and detect seizures and high blood pressure. All of this is a very big job for a little dog with a big heart, and she is up to it!

In the Courageous Companions program, there are no costs to the veterans. Sponsors cover expenses. They have 31 dogs ready to go to veterans and another 43 veterans with dogs waiting to continue their training, but demand exceeds their ability to keep pace with funding.

One solution to address the waiting list may lie with the Royal Canadian Legion. According to their Dominion Command, the 2013 annual Poppy Campaign raised $14 million, and the amount for 2014 is expected to be greater. Each branch of the Legion has the ability to provide 25 per cent of their Poppy Funds for service dogs. That’s $3.5 million nationally. That may be enough to provide a service dog for every qualifying and waiting veteran in Canada.

Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Legion, a progressive, caring, and take-action bunch, has stepped up a second time to save a life of a veteran and is trying to fund Skittles. They are a true testament to the purpose of the Legion – to help veterans. Their tenacity of purpose is inspiring, but they could use a little help.

If you wish to send a Valentines Donation to Skittles, mail or drop off your donations c/o Bob Murdoch, The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 13, 1577 Kingston Rd., Toronto, M1N 1S3.

If you would like a charitable tax receipt please donate through Canadian Legacy at canadianlegacy.org.

UPDATE: Shortly after writing this article I was informed that the Royal Canadian Legion’s Ontario Provincial Command will no longer permit the province’s branches to allocate any Poppy Funds to service dogs. They could not be reached for comment.

One would expect a Legion governing body to put veterans first. Rather than render such an abrupt ending, temporary or otherwise, they should have at least put into place an interim strategy to mitigate the suffering of veterans by using the standards for service dog training currently available while they try to resolve whatever it was that caused them to end the funding, without notice or warning.

A dog’s life is short when compared to the inertia of any big bureaucracy. I hope little Skittles, our dog with a big heart, won’t die with a broken one and neither will the veteran, while they wait for their Legion to bring back funding. Although Branch 13 was depending on the use of Poppy Funds to help sponsor Skittles, they remain a champion of this cause, and will continue to honour their pledge of service and carry on with their fundraising. Without Poppy Funds they will need hundreds of bake sales to raise the needed $10,000.

If you wish more information try calling the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command at 905-841-7999.