Ukraine

In this Ukrainian Echo special, Hero’s Companion Project Director Kalyna Kardash reflects on the project’s inaugural three week mission to Ukraine in August 2015.

“A dog is a man’s best friend” – a phrase most people have heard at least once in their lifetimes, a truth perhaps even experienced personally. In August 2015 that expression came to life in some unexpected places, and for some unexpecting people, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

This summer saw the official launch of Hero’s Companion, a project of Guardian Angels Ukraine which trains and pairs service dogs for veterans and soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions.  Or at least this was the plan when the Canadian contingent first arrived in Ukraine.  In a matter of three short weeks the project had expanded to also include both a therapy dog and explosive detection dog program. 

To help launch the program, four trainers from the Canadian organization Courageous Companions – Marc Lapointe, a Canadian Special Forces veteran and Courageous Companions Program Director; Chris Lohnes, an RCMP officer and canine unit trainer; George Leonard, Courageous Companions founder; and Stuart Murray, a Canadian military police veteran – and myself headed to Ukraine.  It is worth noting that three of the four trainers have their own service dogs.

After our initial assessments it was obvious that awareness raising would be an important component to the project’s success in Ukraine.  Very few people were aware of what a service dog was and how it could help returning Ukrainian soldiers suffering not only from physical injuries, but psychological ones as well.  To help address these concerns, and what later came to be a growing demand for canine-assisted therapy, it was decided that Hero’s Companion would add a therapy dog component to their program, which is how Courageous Companions began in Canada.

It is important here to note the difference between a therapy dog and a service dog.  Whereas a therapy dog is meant to be pet, played with, and generally handled by several different people, a service dog is specifically trained for one particular veteran.  The service dog stays with that veteran 24/7, and is not to be distracted from being focused on him.  A therapy dog, on the other hand, is used by its handler to help numerous individuals open up and assist caregivers in supporting the sick and injured.

The training time is also significantly different between the two types of dogs; whereas a therapy dog can be trained in a relatively short period of time (a few days to a couple weeks), a service dog and its handler go through over a year of intensive training and testing.  In both cases, however, the dogs are tested to high standards before they can begin working as either therapy or service dogs. 

The first few days at the training centre also revealed a desperate need for highly trained explosive detection dogs.  Anatoliy Trubchaninov, the head of our Ukrainian partner, Kinologen-Samariter-Bund der Ukraine (Spilka Samaritian Kinolohiv Ukrainy), had already been voluntarily training explosive detection dogs (and their handlers) for work at the front.  These dogs are performing vital work such as detecting explosive materials at checkpoints and helping to find mines planted by Russian-backed terrorist forces.  Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the spring of 2014, it is estimated that hundreds, if not thousands, of land mines have been purposely planted by Russian-separatist forces.  Such mines have not only been seriously maiming and killing hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, but Ukrainian civilians as well. 

The Canadian trainers were impressed by how much Anatoliy was able to train the dogs to do in such a short time frame - usually only a few weeks - given the pressing urgency of the situation.  But they also noted that due to the necessary rush, the dogs were not trained to their full potential, and much work still needed to be done to bring the canines to the training levels of their canine-counterparts in the Canadian, American, and other NATO forces.  

Having extensive experience in this field and inspired to help, the Canadian trainers and our Ukrainian partners decided to add an explosive detection dog component to Hero’s Companion.  This completed a unique “trifecta” canine program in Ukraine: explosive detection dogs as the “prevention,” therapy dogs as the “treatment,” and service dogs as the “rehabilitation.”

The following weeks were filled with intensive training, selection of dogs, and selection and training of trainers to run the program in Ukraine.  “The resolve [of the Ukrainian trainers] to provide assistance to the soldiers was so inspiring that I couldn’t help but not want the day to end as we were doing so much,” said Lohnes.

It did not take long before the Hero’s Companion project began to get noticed.  With our therapy dogs we paid several visits to the Central Military Hospital in Kyiv as well as the Military Hospital in Irpin.  Our first visit was at the Central Military Hospital.  Initially we were only allowed in outdoor, common places, so we improvised and put on a sort of show with some of the dogs that were at the training centre.  At the same time, the therapy dogs (and two of our service dogs in training) wandered among the crowd of gathered soldiers and their caregivers.

“Going to the hospitals was both sad and uplifting,” said Lohnes.  “Our therapy dog teams sought out and engaged soldiers in crutches, wheelchairs, and on rolling beds, and in every instance a positive interaction occurred, as well as a chance of an improved life with this program.”

It was truly special to witness the almost immediate effect the dogs had on the soldier-patients.  First, their curiosity would encourage them over to us, wanting to pet the dogs and inquire as to what we were doing there.  This would give us an opportunity to talk about Hero’s Companion, the service dogs, and how they could help those suffering from injuries such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (or “Post-Traumatic Stress Injury,” as it is referred to by Courageous Companions).  Oftentimes the soldiers would spend more than a few minutes with us, petting the dog, playing with it, and just being present near it.  And in just that short period of time, more often than not you would see a smile slowly start to appear on their faces, accompanied with a more open, engaging, attitude.  The dogs, in effect, provided a safe, neutral, and appealing subject for both the patient and volunteer to connect over – a connection with the potential to bring much needed help with treatment and rehabilitation of psychological injuries. 

Our first visit at the Kyiv Central Military Hospital was a big success.  Despite the short notice, large numbers of soldiers and volunteers had shown up – and stayed – throughout the entire event.  We were even told that celebrities who would come to perform for the soldiers did not usually receive such a big turnout.

The Hero’s Companion team’s third visit to the Kyiv Military Hospital solidified for us the role and reason behind the program.  During this visit we were granted access into one of the hospital wings and were able to meet with patients who were not able to leave their beds.  Only a small group of us went in: Marc, myself, one of the first Hero’s Companion veteran participants, Volodymyr, and his dog Gera.  Volodymyr had served on the front for a year with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and before the war had worked as a psychologist with children with special needs, and Gera had worked by his side as a therapy dog.  Now the two will continue to work together, as Gera is being trained to be Volodymyr’s service dog and help him with injuries sustained while at the front, including a traumatic brain injury and several concussions.

Upon entering the hospital we were shown into a room with four soldiers in it.  One of them, a leg amputee whose hands were also disfigured, was obviously closed off and detached from those around him, barely looking away from the wall in front of him.  As we began talking about the program, the dogs, and how one could get involved, Gera, as if sensing that he needed help, went up to him and started licking his remaining leg.  She then lied down next to his bed where she stayed for the rest of the time we were there.  Eventually, the amputee took interest in her, first turning around to face her, and then petting her with his leg.  Something so small, yet so significant. 

As we were walking through the hospital grounds back to our bus a soldier came up to our small group exclaiming, “Hey, Gera!”  We turned to Volodymyr a little puzzled, asking if he knew this man.  “Oh no,” the soldier replied, “I recognized Gera from the news reports!”  Continuing on, we also ran into a few of the “regulars” from our previous visits to the hospital.  “Hey Chief!  Did you miss me!?” one said, smiling, reaching for the puppy’s floppy ears.  It was evident we - or more accurately, the dogs - were quickly becoming favourite visitors.

Throughout the three week mission there were also many who came to visit us at the training centre in Krasylivka, about 30 minutes outside of Kyiv.  Among them were several veterans, volunteers, and even curious members of the 11^th Kyiv-Rus Battalion.  Many remarked on the warm, welcoming, and retreat-like atmosphere that was created by the volunteers there from both Canada and Ukraine.  “It’s hard to believe that something like this even exists in Ukraine,” remarked Tanya, a volunteer who works closely with injured soldiers, “It’s such an inviting place, truly somewhere where the soldiers can get away and focus on getting better.”

By the end of the first mission we were receiving multiple phone calls, e-mails and requests from all over Ukraine.  A military training base in Zhytomyr had heard about the program and asked if we could bring the dogs over, as many of the soldiers there had experienced the grim realities of war, including intense fighting while defending the Donetsk airport.  It was clear that the Hero’s Companion program needed to grow and expand as quickly as possible, as the demand for therapy dogs especially was increasing every day. 

While the Hero’s Companion project was off to a good start, everyone involved was well aware that there would be many challenges on the road ahead.  Laws need to be enhanced for persons with visible and invisible disabilities requiring the assistance of service dogs, awareness needs to be raised amongst the general population as to what a service dog is and how they can help veterans, and access to public places such as restaurants, shopping malls, and theatres needs to be secured for those working with service dogs. 

Perhaps most importantly, however, Hero’s Companion must strive towards building trusting relationships with the soldiers and veterans it was established to serve.  In its beginning stages the project has had success in this regard, but it hasn’t been without its challenges.  One evening, for example, after one of our visits at the hospital, we drove to a subway station in downtown Kyiv to meet a soldier who was supposed to have come by train from Dnipropetrovsk.  As it turned out, the soldier had never even made it to the train, as he had gotten drunk that evening and last minute had decided not to take part in the program. 

In another instance, a 23 year old girl who had volunteered as a medic at the front and was training to be a sniper had lost both of her legs and as a result was overcome with depression, not wanting to talk to anyone.  One of the volunteers who worked with her found out about Hero’s Companion and asked us to come and try to talk her into at least coming to have a look at the training centre, as she had not left her hospital room for days.  It was decided that two females would go in and try speaking with her, but when we arrived she did not want to talk to us, and would not allow us into her room.  We tried again twice after that day, to no avail.   

These kinds of difficult realities are faced daily by healthcare professionals, families, and volunteers across Ukraine when it comes to the physical, and especially psychological, rehabilitation of soldiers.  The stigma surrounding mental health issues in Ukraine remains strong, albeit the barriers are starting to fall with an increasing understanding and acceptance of the importance in seeking out help.  The reluctance to openly talk about psychological injuries such as PTSD was witnessed on a regular basis with the soldiers we dealt with; no one would openly acknowledge their struggle with this newfound, internal enemy, but there was a quiet, unspoken understanding that it was a hellish reality weighing down on them. 

But where there are great challenges, lies great opportunity.  Hero’s Companion has the potential to help positively change Ukrainian society, especially those who have been injured while defending its freedom.  As Lohnes remarked, “Even if we help save just one person, this project will be worth it.”  But I am confident that Hero’s Companion will save and bring comfort to not only one person, but many, many more people.

“This experience has been exceptional for my own recovery process,” added Lapointe.  “I have come to the realization that I am nearly closing my full circle of life, [which has included] a military career, my own battle injuries, acceptance, betterment and resilience.  … [Now] I am here helping injured soldiers in the midst of war, supporting their ordeal with my experience and on all aspects of service and recovery.” 

Moving forward, the project will be focused on bringing two to three trainers from Ukraine over to Canada for one month of intensive training.  One of the goals of Hero’s Companion is to have the program be self-sustaining and self-reliable as soon as possible, and this “training of the trainers” will be a key component in reaching that objective.  In Ukraine efforts are also underway to expand our therapy dog program to as many regions as possible, in order to reach a maximum number of hospitals and soldier-patients. 

“The base for this project is solid,” noted Lohnes.  “It’s evident as the team in Ukraine is already increasing its numbers, gaining support from different regions, and getting into facilities to reach out to the soldiers.  Public awareness is also steadily growing.”

Looking back at our first mission in Ukraine, it is rewarding to think of all that we were able to accomplish in just three weeks.  While the road ahead might not necessarily be easy, the team is looking to the future with hope and anticipation, determined to help Ukrainian soldiers and injured veterans in a new and exciting way.

To learn more about the project, follow along with its progress, and/or make a donation, please see their website (http://heroscompanion.org) and Facebook page.