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Our efforts to help Veterans appears to be gaining momentum...
The program my wife and I are trying to start up here in Tucson seems like its getting some steam:
Formal Release;
There is a new program in the works that will provide dogs specifically bred to be service dogs for Veterans with a multitude of ailments, most importantly PTSD. This program is being started by a young lady and her husband, both Veterans, both 100% disabled who are doing some of the breeding and training and securing breeding commitments from breeders around the country. The dogs are trained for “emotional support” and as Psychiatric Service dogs.
The animals used in this program are the Borzoi (aka Russian Wolf Hound) and Belgian shepherds. Both breeds are known for their ability to operate independently. The breeders are only using specific animals to insure that they are as problem free as possible. The animal donations come from ethical breeders and are health, trainability & temperament screened dogs (the parents, grandparents and so forth free of genetic disease or problems). This is to insure that the dog’s bloodlines do not have a history of cancer, hip dysplasia and the myriad of other problems that are common with larger dogs.
The breeds selected have been proven to be great psychiatric Service Dog's. They are large, quiet, long-lived, extremely healthy, and most importantly they are not blindly obedient or human reliant...they think for themselves.
As an example one of the first Borzoi service dogs placed went to a civilian who had severe PTSD, involuntary hospitalizations and the works. She had been trying to obtain a service dog for nearly a year, but had gone with the traditional service breeds (German Shepherd, golden...) and basically it was a problem. She would start having panic attacks, the dogs would too and become very aggressive to boot as they frantically searched over and over for a threat. On the other hand, the Borzoi placed with her would check the house on command but then come back to her and start soothing her on his own (nudges, Hugs, licks, play). She no longer gets hospitalized, she has resumed college and the dog is nominated for an AKC A.C.E. award for service dogs.
And now, the part you have been waiting for. The dogs are free to any Veteran and he is qualified as long as his VA or VET Center PTSD councilor thinks it would benefit them and they are capable of care or have help caring for the animal. The donations of these dogs goes through the DAV (Tucson, Chapter 4) so that the breeder at least gets a receipt for their dog - and the Veteran is getting the dog from a source they know is not going to ask anything of him. The breeders do welcome contact from the vets if they would like to talk - especially about their dogs. The dogs are transported, in many cases, by Operation Roger or Pilots N Paws without cost to the Veteran.
One of the best benefits is that as Certified Service dogs, the animal can remain with you at all times much the same as a “Seeing Eye” dog can remain with its master. That way, the dog is with you at all times and especially when you may need him most. I have seen the Borzoi in action and it is an amazing animal.
If you have interest in this program, you may contact me (Ken Costich) at *deleted* or through the program originator, Alicia Miller at *deleted*
If anyone is interested in either e-mail for legitimate reasons let me know via PM.
Hopefully this will lead to helping a lot of people who need it, finally.
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
What kind of help or assistance is needed? And how can people help?
Right now, unless you live in the Tucson, AZ area, we may eventually need dogs to be donated, depending on how big the demand gets. Which will hopefully be big, and go nationwide, eventually.
Right now, we see a need, and are working to fill it. But the ground work has to be laid first, and that is what is being done.
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
Congesswoman G. Gifford of AZ is now on board with helping our program succeed. So hopefully between her and Senator Al Franken we will succeed.
We will be doing a news media event in the near future, if it gets put up on the internet I'll post links
__________________ It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. NEVER hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, IF it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters give in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Volumes, YOU are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a WHOLE first, your CAMPAIGN next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in so doing as the rest of us do.
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