During our weekend to Jacksonville,  North Carolina, one my main objectives was a meeting with Carolyn Shields RN (Case Management: Brain Injury Clinic), and two potential Stiggy’s Dogs recipients.

I received an email from Mrs. Shields asking about our program, and stating she has a Veteran that was asking for a Therapy Dog.  Excited that I could do this in person we quickly arranged schedule’s to meet. It was a long drive down (bad weather) but we made it there (only a few minutes late). Due to last minutes changes, Donna and I were attending this meeting with Gibbs (then Cody) an 8 month old Lab mix. Gibbs seemed excited about his adventure on base! Even so, Donna and I brought a special bone to help keep him ‘occupied’ so we could conduct our meeting. Having Gibbs there was a blessing in disguise as we watched him do his ‘magic’ on the group…..

We all sat in this small room, Mrs. Shields, Donna, I and these two young Marines (Gibbs in the center, soaking up the attention!) The conversation started off routinely, talking mostly about our organization. We asked specifically what they would like to see in their Therapy Dog’s. When one of the Marines started to talk, Gibbs got up, went to him and hugged him! He jumped up (lightly) paw on each shoulder, and started licking his face. The Young Marine stopped talking, taking in every lick, rubbing his back, and started to laugh. You could see his body ease…. a smile … and then it was like we were talking to a different person.

It was one of the best 2 hours of our trip. Everyone talked open and candidly, sharing information. We listened and learned, asked serious questions and got serious answers. These guys were great and Donna and I look forward to hopefully pairing them in the future with a Stiggy’s Dog.

After the Marines left, we had some time to talk alone to Mrs. Shields. This gave us a unique opportunity to get her perspective and how we can better our dog training for these needs.  We talked about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Depression and TBI. What is TBI? (A fairly new military diagnosis, and one that is sadly being seen more and more).

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), often called the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, occurs when a sudden trauma or head injury disrupts the function of the brain. Common causes of TBI include damage caused by Explosive Devices (IED’s).  Resulting in symptoms commonly seen:  impaired memory, concentration and mental focus, depression, mood-swings, loss of hearing……and many other symptoms all ranging in different levels for each individual. (Much more on this in another post)

So many things we are still learning, as a person, as an organization (Stiggy’s Dogs), as a community (Military Veterans), as medical doctors (Science and Technology) …… all changing and growing.

Thank you Mrs. Shields, the two Marines, and Gibbs for a profound experience. Thus changing the Stiggy’s Dogs Business Plan…..again…….