News Blog
Woofs for Warriors pairs veterans and dogs who need each other
10/29/2018
Before Kent, a handsome boxador, came into his life last year, former Army Cpl. Scott Clancy, 46, was very close to committing suicide, he said.
“I would check the door 30 to 40 times a day. I was afraid in crowds,” he said. “I would go out to the store maybe once a month.”
But an unexpected perfect pairing with this boxer lab mix changed Clancy’s life.
“I saw pictures and videos of other dogs, but when I saw Kent, I saw something in his eyes,” he said. “And when I (got) on the ground, he came over and our connection was instant. He gave me my life back — I was afraid of my own shadow.”
Clancy and Kent were connected through Woofs for Warriors, a local program that links rescue dogs with veterans — many with post-traumatic stress disorder — and helps train the dogs as service dogs along with the veterans.
“We are not only saving the vet, we are saving the dog,” said Cathy Reichen, president of Woofs for Warriors. “When we are contacted by a vet, we figure out what they need and want and work closely with them and their ‘fur-ever’ friend. The bond, I can’t describe it, but when it is the right dog, the connection, you can’t teach those things.”
The program, originally started by Paul Du Bois under the Mountains to Miracles Program, was so busy with requests, Du Bois asked Reichen and Chris Argento to help out.
“We took over from Paul because he couldn’t keep up with the demand,” said Chris Argento, vice president of adoption and training for Woofs for Warriors. “We match a dog, that has the potential to be a service dog, with a vet.”
About 10 years ago, the Army began using animals to help de-stress combat soldiers in Iraq, and although it’s been slow to evolve, some Army hospitals like Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland use specially trained dogs as mental health therapy assistants who help calm veterans while in therapy sessions.
Kaiser Permanente scientist Carla Greene has been studying the effects of pairing assistance dogs with soldiers in her PAWS research project, and she said that community reintegration problems for veterans with PTSD are common.
Especially troubling are fears of entering buildings, crowds and standing with their back to others in public. For many veterans with PTSD, the fears are debilitating, with many becoming hermits who are unable to tolerate public situations.
According to Greene, preliminary quantitative data indicates a statistically significant difference with PTSD symptoms, substance abuse, depression, interpersonal relationships and overall mental health for veterans with service dogs.
Last year, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Wellsboro, co-sponsored a bill, HR 4764, “Puppies Assisting Wounded Service Members,” or the PAWS Act of 2016, designed to provide service dogs and veterinary health insurance to veterans who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and were diagnosed with and continue to suffer from PTSD.
The bill was sent to committee in 2016.
Scott and Kent
Scott Clancy entered the Army after high school in 1988 during Desert Storm. In 1991, while on field operations at Camp Pickett in Virginia, he was struck by lightning.
“I woke up in the hospital two days later and all I remember is seeing the steam coming off my skin,” he said. “It entered my left calf and there was a blue flush to my skin and it was smoking.”
The strike to his body left him completely disabled. But it wasn’t until he had a knee replacement in 2012 that the PTSD appeared. And doctors said they think something from the anesthesia triggered latent memories of the trauma.
“They think it brought the PTSD to the forefront,” he said. “I got to the point I would never go out, I gained a lot of weight and my personal hygiene was next to nothing.”
Prescription medicines failed. “I didn’t think anything was going to help,” he said.
And then last year he heard about Woofs for Warriors from the Mountains to Miracles Foundation on Facebook.
“From the time Chris got Kent from North Carolina, it was three months,” Clancy said. “I got him on May 18, 2016.”
Kent was a rescued stray found with horrible mange, said Reichen.
But once healed, he was ready to tackle his new job.
And together, Clancy and Kent started training with Woofs for Warriors.
Today, Kent senses Clancy’s emotions and needs. When they are in public, if Clancy might be in a check-out line, Kent sits behind him, touching Clancy’s feet and facing outward. If someone gets too close, Kent stands up, creating a safe space and alerting Clancy.
When they arrive at home, Kent goes into the house first and scans the rooms to make sure no one is inside before Clancy enters.
“He alerts me my when my blood sugar is too low or too high,” Clancy said. “He will start licking my hand or puts his legs across me.”
Still an issue for Clancy are storms. Because he was injured during a storm, he will not go out, so Kent is trained to let him know when storms are coming.
Right now, Clancy and Kent are working on light switches.
“Kent is OK turning on lights, but I’m teaching him how to turn on three-way lights and how to open handicapped doors at grocery stores,” Kent said. “He’s working about five hours a day, and he always has a great smile. He just loves it, he loves to work.”
Woofs for Warriors
Reichen and Argento are also part of Glens Falls Kennel Club, but their Woofs for Warriors work is keeping them busy.
When they get calls from rescues, locally and in other states, they travel to the location and adopt dogs that might make good service dogs before placing them in foster homes, to see how the dogs get along with children and other animals and observe their overall traits.
“We evaluate the dog, take them to the veterinarian. Basically, they have to be good with people and other dogs,” Argento said.
In the past year, they have placed about 15 dogs with veterans and the program in general has matched about 57, said Reichen.
Just as the dogs are evaluated, so are the veterans who have applied for a service dog through the program.
“There is an interview process and we are an advocate for the dog and the vet. We want to make sure it is a safe home environment. If there is no yard, they have to be willing to walk the dog,” Argento said. “And that’s good for them to get out.”
According to Argento, veterans must also agree to work with the training, which can take from six months to a year.
“They are always training,” Argento added.
Their initial goals are to train the service dogs to meet AKC Canine Good Citizen Certification as well as being able to handle specific situations such as working in crowds and watching the veteran’s back.
“In crowds we teach them to circle around the vet,” Argento said. “Our trainers work with (the veteran and dog) so they are able to go into restaurants, on airplanes, in airports, and basically we teach them how to behave in public.”
Reichen explained that they also provide continual follow-up.
She first got involved with Woofs for Warriors because of her father, who is a Vietnam veteran.
“I did it to honor my father, who has struggled with even discussing it,” she said, adding that her father would be a hermit if it wasn’t for his service dog.
And she is always happy to talk about Clancy’s success.
She shares that Clancy has learned so much about training Kent and that he now researches new skills for Kent.
“He is a unique trainer,” she said. “Scott is a guy who needed it, and he is now a different man. “
KATHLEEN PHALEN-TOMASELLI kphalen-tomaselli@poststar.com
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