New in 2008 at Leadership Turn
by Miki SaxonI’ve added a new category for 2008 that I think will prove interesting for you to read—and for me to write, which is always an important consideration.
Being at the forefront and engaging the minds and hearts of others isn’t limited to people, companies and ideas themselves can lead, whether long-term or in the instance.
Leading factors will look at these, some serious, some a bit light-hearted and some downright silly. They’ll all be grist for the leading factors mill.
We’ll start with Sgts. First Class Budge and Boe, shortly deploying to Iraq as the Army’s first therapy dogs for soldiers in combat.
The two black Labrador retrievers will be stationed with the Army’s combat stress units in Tikrit and Mosul. Their role? To help soldiers deal with the stress of fighting overseas. According to occupational therapist Sgt. Jack Greene, “The major thing is, they are going to help us knock down the stigma around mental health.”
Having lived in San Francisco I remember when the SFSPCA started training volunteers in Animal Assisted Therapy. AAT has made an amazing difference in thousands of lives and it’s nice to know that it will soon be helping in Iraq.
Do you know someone who has benefited from AAT? Do you have a leading factor story to share?
Your comments—priceless
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January 1st, 2008 at 7:54 am
Miki —
What a wonderful thing and thanks for sharing. Dogs have been making such an important contribution overseas already, especially saving lives with their abilities to detect explosives. I can definitely see where this will make a huge impact on the mental health of deployed men and women. Great, great stuff. Hooah!
January 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Hi Miki
That’s a really interesting program. I had no idea that the military did this but I think it is a great idea. I hope that the military publishes follow up info as to how it is working.
There is an interesting program in the town I live in called Puppies Behind Bars. It’s not officially an AAT program but it probably has some of the same benefits. In this program guide dog puppies are placed in prisons with inmates convicted of non-violent crimes. The prisoners care for the puppies 24×7 and are themselves trained on how to train them and care for them. The puppies get a lot of attention and the inmates get the pride of being trusted to care for another living creature. The outcome has been really positive. Volunteers in the community periodically take the puppies on outings so they get used to traffic, restaurants, stores, etc. and at the end of the training, there is a graduation. The prisoners are sad to let go of the dogs but proud that they are helping someone become more independent by providing a well-trained dog.
It’s amazing all the unexpected benefits of caring for a pet, isn’t it?
January 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Tom, It is a great program, but AAT has been around for so long it makes you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner! Animals of all kinds make an incredible difference in our lives.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Hi Liz, that’s a great program! I’ve read about using prisoners to train a variety of service animals and you’re right on about the myriad of benefits that comes of such programs.
I find it ironically amusing that it’s the empathy and nonjudgmental love of “dumb” animals that heals so much more effectively than that of other “intelligent” beings.