THE BONDS BETWEEN HUMANS AND DOGS CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING
“The bond between man and dog is something that can really cure a lot of emptiness,” says Stephen Knight of Dallas, Texas. “I'm a recovering addict, six years clean and sober,” Knight tells NBC News BETTER. “I did work in non-profits and social services but went into addiction hard core and ended up homeless, living out of my car, and lost everything in life that matters.”
Getting a dog eight months into recovery “changed my life,” Knight says. “There's a lot of voids that you fill with drinking and drugs. Dogs can replace that with their love.”
Having a dog “taught me how to trust again and how to build a relationship,” he adds.
Knight's first dog was a 10-pounder named Jayde he took in when a friend went to a rehabilitation center and couldn't take her dog. It was either a shelter where the Maltese-Daschund mix would likely be euthanized, or live with him, Knight says. After experiencing what it meant to have a dog, “I had this vision,” he says, “an aha moment: If this is so good for me, this, how many other people could it help?”
Indeed, dogs can play an important role in recovery, Johnson says. “We need to have unconditional love and acceptance that we get from animals. Nobody gets enough of that.”
Knight returned to school to get a license to practice substance abuse counseling, he says. And he launched an organization that would make sure that concern for a dog wouldn't be a barrier to seeking help. Most sobriety houses don't allow dogs, and “I couldn't imagine, saying 'you're making this huge decision to work on your life but in order to do that you have to give up that one lasting relationship you have, your dog,'” he says. “I was amazed how many people would not give up their dogs and they end up getting worse.”
steps in to place dogs who need a temporary home with foster families, and provides resources to care for the pet. Knowing their dog is ok allows people to focus on their recovery, Knight says.when they're able to provide the care the dog needs, but it's the care the dog gives their person that makes the lasting impact.
DOGS ARE HELPING PEOPLE STAY CLEAN AND SOBER
Three years into the program, “we've seen a difference,” Knight says. “We're finding about 70 percent of clients are clean and sober now ... most made it through the [most difficult] first year because they had their dog back. I think we have something very special.”
What's more, the dogs are doing good even as they're in foster care — they most often go to homes of others in recovery. “When we get to a point that [the clients] are pretty solid and thinking about getting a dog, they foster for people going into rehab,” Knight says. “We encourage them to experience what it is to have a dog.”
And what is that experience? “That first year can be very lonely,” Knight says. “Most people are not going to be in relationships and they shouldn't be. A dog can provide so many positive elements to what the human experience is about: purpose, responsibility, trust, unconditional love.” In his own first year, Knight says, “I was depressed and having to face the reality of my consequences. You don't want to get out of bed but if you have a dog sitting on top of you … it gives you that motivation and that responsibility.”
Dogs can teach an important lesson, too, he says. “Dogs stay present in the moment. That's important for people in recovery, we try to not worry about the future as much. And dogs don't let their past define them.”
Knight is working to launch Dogs Matter programs across the country. But there's a whole world of other opportunity for dogs to make a difference.
DOGS HELP THE OLD AND YOUNG
Another population that sees great benefit from dog companionship is older adults, says Johnson. Yet this is another group that often isn't able to keep their pets at a time they need them most.
If an older person is struggling to take care of a pet, “the unfortunate thing that happens is family members say the pet has to go. Sometimes even primary caregivers say that,” Johnson says. “It's inhumane to the animal and the adult. Often the animal is the reason adult gets up in the morning. It may be the only individual they communicate with for days.”
Many senior living facilities don't allow pets, and “if you think of the stress of having to move to a new place, and on top of it to have to give [their pet] up, it's unthinkable,” Johnson says. “So we started, where people move in with their pets and my team provides pet care assistance.” Residents get help with dog walking, grooming, and medication for their companion. “We need more places like this that promote this kind of interaction,” she says.
Dogs also provide a communication bridge between older and younger generations, Johnson says.
