As far as Seaside resident Jim Ballos is concerned, a lonely little Jack Russell terrier saved his life.
The Army veteran served in a missile unit with the 3rd Armored Division in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. After returning from a six-month tour in Iraq, Ballos tried returning to his normal life but spiraled downward as he struggled to cope with the mental and physical side effects from Gulf War Syndrome.
He eventually wound up homeless and attempted suicide. Ballos sought help and wound up living in a transitional unit on the Veterans Affairs campus in Vancouver.
The dual diagnosis treatment program he enrolled in required a hefty medication schedule of eight pills, twice a day, to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression and sleep issues.
?That had gone on for about a year and was just too much,? he says of the medication regime. ?I wasn?t active. I was a recluse. I didn?t want anything to do with anything.?
Ballos recalls going to the grocery store at 2 a.m. to avoid as much contact with people as possible. The medications didn?t seem to be helping, and his weight ballooned to nearly 300 pounds. He racked his brain for an alternative.
?I knew something natural had to work,? he says. ?I also knew that back from my childhood, animals were my connection.?
So Ballos decided he wanted to adopt a dog, but not just any dog. He viewed the adoptable dogs on Humane Society for Southwest Washington?s website for several months, seeking a fellow survivor like himself.
Then he came across a sweet old Jack Russell terrier.
The dog had come to the Vancouver shelter as a stray, got adopted and was returned to the shelter. Digit had been there for nearly a year before Ballos met him.
?He was 10 years old; nobody wanted a senior Jack Russell. He?s a vet, too,? Ballos jokes.
The dog suffered from separation anxiety and needed lots of one-on-one attention. Sensing the two needed each other, Ballos decided to take Digit home in fall of 2010.
It only took about a month for Ballos to notice he was experiencing what he calls a ?huge transformation.?
At the time (he now suffers from liver cancer), Digit was very active and required frequent exercise.
?That?s where it really helped,? Ballos says. ?It was like putting on a superhero cape. I was socializing, exercising, and doing thing that people do. I saw this amazing transformation in myself.?
As he and Digit strolled through the VA campus, Ballos noticed a change in the other veterans, too.
?I could see the reaction on the vets there,? he says. ?A light bulb went off, and I thought, ?There?s got to be a program with pets and vets.?
He did some research and came across Pets for Vets, a national nonprofit organization that pairs military veterans with a trained shelter dog.
After contacting founder Clarissa Black, Ballos worked to establish a local chapter and is now a program director for the organization?s Northwest region.?
The Washington chapter began in December 2010 and so far has paired four veterans with shelter pets.
The organization is also operating in California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Michigan and Maryland.
And as of Monday, Pets for Vets officially launched its Oregon chapter.
The new chapter is timely, arriving soon after a September ruling by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that it would stop funding therapy dogs for veterans diagnosed with PTSD or other mental health issues. The new rule, which took effect Oct. 5, limits service dogs to veterans with visual, hearing or mobility-related injuries.
According to the VA?s National Center for PTSD, an estimated 10 percent of Gulf War veterans suffer from PTSD, and between 11 to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer from it.
Pets for Vets provides dogs to any veteran from any theater of combat with a condition that could benefit from a therapy animal.
Each animal costs between $500 and $700, but veterans receive dogs free of charge.
As a national nonprofit, Pets for Vets is funded through donations and grants, including a $20,000 grant from the Cigna Foundation and $15,000 from the Newman?s Own Foundation.
The organization is cautious about placing a dog in a home with other dogs or small children ages 6 and under.
?No matter how well a dog is trained, some things can happen and we can?t be liable for that,? Ballos explains.
After a veteran fills out an application, a professional certified dog trainer will choose a dog that will match the veteran?s needs. The trainers, who serve as volunteers with Pets for Vets, will foster and train the dog for four to six months. Training includes desensitizing it to wheelchairs or crutches, and recognizing when a person is experiencing a panic or anxiety disorder.
Ballos, a former executive chef who is now considered a disabled veteran, credits his recovery to Digit. He hopes to help other veterans experience the healing power of pets.
?It?s a win-win situation for anybody that?s involved,? Ballos says of the program. ?You just can?t go wrong with it.?
But perhaps his e-mail signature line sums it up best: It?s a quote by Bern Williams that reads, ?There is no better psychiatrist in the world then a puppy licking your face.?
For more information about Pets for Vets or to donate or apply, visit www.pets-for-vets.com.
--Monique Balas
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2012/11/pet_talk_veteran_inspired_by_d.html
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