BASIL, Bentley, Cookie and Lola have this week become the unlikely heroes for four Australian Defence Force veterans.
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The dogs might have once been unwanted and unloved, but now they become success stories from Bathurst Correctional Facility’s Defence Community Dog Program.
Run for the past four years, the program’s latest canine graduates were handed over to veterans during a graduation ceremony on Thursday.
During the program, dogs are adopted from rescue groups or pounds and each one is paired up with a specially-selected inmate for six months of intense training to become a companion dog.
And, the program has been life-changing for veterans and inmates alike.
Program overseer Kylie Fogarty said veterans involved in the program are suffering a range of issues such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
Many had shut themselves off from society until they received a dog through the program.
A former Air Force fireman, who asked not to be named, received a dog named Basil during the graduation.
The veteran has suffered from from PTSD, chronic depression and anxiety since 1974, at night he often wakes from traumatic night terrors.
He said Basil has already had a significant impact on his life.
“On the first time night I was woken three times by young Basil and I didn’t have any night tremors,” he said.
Having a program like this is very special to me and to the whole community.
- Bathurst Correctional Centre inmate
Since the veteran met Basil he has also had the courage to walk into a shopping centre for the first time in almost 40 years.
Another veteran, who received his companion dog Yogi earlier this year, returned to the jail to share his story.
“Twenty times per month I would suffer from night terrors, I would wake up screaming,” he said.
“The first night I had Yogi I had a night terror … this particular night was that I was drowning. He [Yogi] got out of his crate, turned on the light and licked my face to wake me up.”
This veteran previously had terrors around 20 nights a month, but since he received Yogi he has not had a terror in 2.5 months.
An Army veteran who received a dog named Bentley on Thursday said for the first time it felt like someone “had her back”.
During the graduation, a number of inmates spoke about what the program means to them, including one who had trained four dogs for veterans during the past 2.5 years.
“I know it’s made a massive contribution to the community and the country,” he said.
Another stood before the veteran who was about to receive a dog, and amid tears, said giving back to the community had been very rewarding.
“Having a program like this is very special to me and to the whole community,” he said.