Past News Articles

See articles about HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response in the following magazines:

Just Labs - November/December 2007 Issue

Interactions (by Delta Society) - November/December 2007

Virginia Department of Transportation
Profiles HOPE Member Dawn Eischen & Ginger

Virginia's DOT profiled HOPE member Dawn Eischen and her dog Ginger in the July-September issue of the VDOT Bulletin. To read the article click the link below:

http://www.virginiadot.org/about/bulletin/2007/July-Aug/vdot-in-profile.asp

The National Association of School Psychologists
Publishes Article About the Tragedy at Virginia Tech
Written by HOPE Member Deborah Hatherley

Paws for a Smile

by Deborah L. Hatherley, Ed.S.  NCSP

On Monday, the 16th of April, 32 people lost their lives in a senseless shooting by a mentally ill student at Virginia Tech.  On that day, not only were students at the university affected, but the impact spread throughout this quiet mountain community and throughout the world.  This event was declared a national emergency and the American Red Cross requested HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response dog/handler teams to assist in providing emotional and psychological support to those affected by this crisis.  In response to the call-out, Bill and Debbie Hatherley and their trained crisis response dog Brinkley, drove from Atlanta, Georgia to Blacksburg, Virginia on Friday, April 20.

Early Saturday morning we joined four other Hope AACR teams on campus.  Each team consisted of at least one handler and a nationally certified therapy dog, who has been specially trained and desensitized for high stress, crisis response work.  Students, faculty, alumni and others were walking on the drill field, many taking the opportunity to read what others had written and to express their own thoughts and memories on the living memorials under the tents.  These included poster boards full of personal reflections, lit candles, flowers and other keepsakes.  You could see their pain and feel their sorrow.  Brinkley worked his magic as many people stopped to pet him.  As they hugged him, some said nothing, others had tears rolling down their faces, and others began to open up and share their experiences, thoughts and feelings.  Somehow, when you have a dog with you, people feel comforted and begin to open up.  We would listen and express empathy.  Sometimes we said nothing and at other times, when it was appropriate, we were able to confirm that their feelings were normal.  We also informed people of other resources available to help those in need for the long term.

Over the weekend the HOPE AACR teams walked throughout the campus, interacting with people who were affected by the shooting incident.  At times, Brinkley was able to pick out a particular individual who he felt needed comforting and we trusted his judgment.  He knew who needed him and how to respond to each person.  It was interesting the way he would stand around for some and then lean on others, especially those who expressed emotion when expressing their feelings.  Dogs will never say the wrong thing, they won’t ask questions, they are nonjudgmental, and most of all, they offer unconditional love.  Brinkley often brought a bit of joy and an occasional smile to the several hundreds of people he interacted with.

On Sunday morning we attended Sunday school at a local congregation where we participated in three different discussion groups involving children from the elementary, middle and high school levels to discuss their feelings and concerns about the incident and their returning to school with their friends the following day.  These children had been in lockdowns the previous week and school had been canceled for the remainder of the week throughout the surrounding area.  Many of these young children knew people or direct relatives of people that had been injured or who had died.  We were able to discuss their questions, dispel rumors about what happened, and offer them thoughts about how they could respond to their friends.

On Monday, we arrived on campus at 6:30 in the morning to attend a special memorial in front of the dorm where the first two victims had been killed exactly one week earlier.  At 9:30, there were over 10,000 people on the drill field for a memorial ceremony.  They rang a loud bell and a single white balloon was release for each person killed.  Then hundreds of maroon and orange balloons were released into the clear blue sky.  Not one word was spoken but many students openly wept, and several grabbed and hugged Brinkley.  At one point, Brinkley walked towards a woman who was standing alone.  He leaned against her leg and she leaned down, burst into tears and just held him for the longest time.  He didn’t move.

One of the more rewarding visits was to the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad.  They were the first responders to the incident and provided the initial medical care.  They had medical training, but they were students themselves and seemed ever so young.  The experience had been dramatic for them, but they were coping with their stress.  How they loved having Brinkley to visit with them!!  We saw smiles and heard laughter as they played with Brinkley and shared stories of their dogs back home.  The Hope AACR teams were also invited to attend one of the first classes upon the student’s return.  There were so many “thank yous” from the students, faculty, alumni, and first responders who interacted with Brinkley, but in truth, we feel privileged to share in this event.  Thank you, VA Tech, for allowing us to be with you at this time.

Deborah Hatherley is a school psychologist in Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Ga.  She and Brinkley are a nationally certified dog/handler team with HOPE Animal Assisted Crisis Response.  Brinkley and I were certified as an animal assisted crisis response team in 2004.  FEMA invited us along with several other HOPE teams to assist in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.  We visited several FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers and worked with many displaced people needing services.  We also went into the “Tent City” where hundreds of people had been living for months in the tents.  Over the Christmas holiday we visited on the cruise ships where the fire and police department and their families were housed and we worked closely with SAMHSA, Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Agency, volunteers.  We also visited the Red Cross Headquarters in Baton Rouge where exhausted responders had been working for many months.  We visited a hotel in downtown New Orleans where mentally ill and homeless people were housed.  We assisted SAMHSA in responding to their needs.  Deborah and Brinkley are also members of the Alpharetta Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and assist with incidents in their community.  

U.S. Military Kids Meet HOPE AACR Dogs

May 17, 2007 - HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response is preparing to participate in Operation Purple, a summer camp program for kids of deployed U.S. military personnel.

Many children are experiencing multiple deployments or have more than one parent or family member deployed. The stories from those who attended Operation Purple summer camps offer a glimpse of the heavy emotional and psychological burden that falls on the sons and daughters of service members. The goal of these free summer camps is to bring together youth who are experiencing some stage of a deployment and the stress that goes along with it. Operation Purple camps give kids the coping skills and support networks of peers to better handle life’s ups and downs.

This year more than 40 weeks of camps will be held at 34 locations in 26 states. The camps’ outreach programs provide the skills and positive outlets for their feelings, but it’s the camaraderie campers are able to build with one another that’s so important. Learning coping skills, making new friends, and experiencing life lessons at an early age are what make Operation Purple camps so unique.

HOPE AACR will have certified teams at six of the camps this summer.  Kids attending the camps will have an opportunity to interact with the crisis response dogs.  Last year was the first time HOPE AACR was invited to participate in the camps, and the response of the kids, families, and staff was very paws'itive!

Operation Purple is a program of the National Military Family Association. www.nmfa.org

HOPE AACR Serves Students of Virginia Tech

http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=3141

Welcome 'paws' in disaster response "Comfort dog" teams help after disasters

BY HEATHER MOYER | EUGENE, Ore. | May 1, 2007

It was a visit from "man's best friend" - courtesy of HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (HOPE AACR) - that gave the firefighters "paws" and helped lift the somber mood.

"I was amazed to see the solemn faces of weary and emotionally drained firefighters change when they touched the dogs," a fire official said. "I can only describe it as a sense of peace, understanding and love. It is almost as if the dogs know that someone is in pain and they are willing to help them carry the sorrow while reminding us that in time we will find that peace again." The response by the firefighters was just one example of how canines can easily provide as much comfort and relief after a disaster as a person can offer, according HOPE AACR.

Canines can provide comfort and relief to people in times of disaster. Credit: P.J. Heller

"Whatever the sense dogs have, I think they see that there are people hurting or in need," said Dave Valantine, president of the national non-profit agency based in Eugene, Ore. The organization is entirely volunteer.

The agency says its mission is "to offer hope and provide help through safe and effective animal-assisted emotional rescue, recovery and ongoing support to individuals and responders who have been affected by crisis and disaster."

"It's something that we call magical because it appears that way," he said.

The dogs and their handlers are trained in animal-assisted therapy as well as attend training sessions and workshops throughout the year.

Some handlers are mental health professionals, but their role in the responses is not to counsel those they meet. Rather, Valantine said, they and the dogs "are trained to do crisis response."

"Mental health professionals teach us classes on how to deal with people who have experienced huge traumas," he explained. "A lot of this is basically learning what to say and what not to say. One thing we don't do is offer counseling. We're not there do to that - we're there to provide a non-judgmental alternate touch from a human or a dog."

But why dogs instead of just humans?

Sometimes it just takes the wag of a tail or the patting of a dog's head to bring a smile, he said.

The agency also provides animal-assisted activities or therapy, with handlers and their dogs going into hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and schools.

"It lowers the blood pressure and heart rate and it helps people look outward and not inward," Valantine said.

Jill Cucaz, regional director for Hope AACR on the East Coast, was among several comfort dog teams that went to Virginia Tech the first weekend after campus shootings left 33 students dead, including the gunman. For students and faculty that spent time with the dogs, it was a welcome break from the tragedy, she said.

"We based our camp in the student center there, but if we heard about events on campus, we'd walk there," Cucaz said. "All we had to do was just walk out the door and we had people stopping us. Or people would come to us and relax.

"Anyone that came in would get on the floor with the dogs," she said. "They would just come and sit with them and relax. They would do it to get away from the press and the grief and all that stuff."

Cucaz and her dog, a golden retriever named Custer, spent three days on campus with several other handlers and their dogs. She said the response was so overwhelming that they could have used 30 more teams.

"The dogs were exhausted at the end of the day," she said. "These dogs really feel the presence of grief and stress because the people who are holding them and handling them are also giving them bear hugs. They'd also bury their faces in the dogs. That's stress on the dog. Some people were crying. We'd have to give frequent breaks to the dogs."

She said each night the dogs would all fall asleep quickly, but then be up and excited and ready to go again the next morning.

Valantine has taken his dog to crises as well, including to several wildfires in California.

"We provided a stress relief for the firefighters and first responders," he said. "They'd play with the dogs and toss a ball or just sit and pet them."

The visits were welcomed by the fire crews.

"These little breaks from reality are wonderful to us," wrote one battalion chief in a letter to the organization. "It gives us a chance to open up a little and reminds us of what we have waiting at home. I was pleased to see some of the most macho of men breaking down and enjoying the dogs company."

Valantine said all types of breeds serve as comfort dogs. A training regime gets them ready to serve.

In addition to obedience training, a primary training goal is to ensure the dogs do not react to things such as sirens, crying babies, large crowds and firefighting apparatus.

"We want a dog that is non-reactive in situations that are chaotic," Valantine said. "We do a lot of ongoing training that involves those types of things not just for the dog, but also for the handler."

Valantine added that a good handler can even take an inexperienced dog and make it appear to have more experience than it does.

"There's a lot more training for the humans than the dogs," he said.

Cucaz, who is a fifth-grade teacher, said she "absolutely enjoys" her work with Hope AACR. Her students are always asking her what she and Custer have been doing. When not responding to disasters, she takes her dog to pet expos and homeland security drills to spread the word and to train.