Chaplain grateful for PTSD service dog
From the Perth Courier:
For Sandy Scott, a former Canadian military chaplain, who is used to giving spiritual guidance to soldiers on the battle field, it took a leap of faith to admit that he too needed help, and from a dog no less.
Scott was there, shortly after an explosion in Kandahar province in Afghanistan killed five Canadians, one of them Michelle Lang, a reporter for the Calgary Herald, on Dec. 30, 2009.
“You give comfort to the staff,” said Scott. He knew Lang, and the other service people killed that day (Pvt. Garrett Chidley, Sgt. George Miok, Corp. Zachery McCormack, and Sgt. Kirk Taylor).
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“She has been my saving grace,” said Scott. “She’s key to my treatment. This one dog saves lives.”
Lemieux told the audience gathered in the lounge that his organization “started with one dog and one member.”
Lemieux’s unit does not just hand out a dog to a member and then send them on their way with their best wishes.
“We see our members every month. They can always reach out,” said Lemieux. They also offer refresher training to veterans with their dogs.