A group of Niagara-on-the-Lake volunteers is fundraising to give two people who’ve served their country and communities something they say can change a life — a loyal dog trained to sense distress before it’s spoken.
The Rotary Club of NOTL and members of the local Lions Club are leading Paws for Heroes, a fundraiser supporting the Canadian Veteran Service Dog Unit, an Ottawa-based organization that trains and places service dogs with veterans and first responders across Canada to help with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“PTSD affects our first responders and military,” said organizer Dorothy Soo-Wiens. “It changes them.”
Each dog costs about $30,000 to recruit, raise and train. The goal is to fund two this year — the first time Niagara has had two local applicants.
Co-organizer Peter Warrack, a retired detective from Northern Ireland, says for certain people, a dog provides an “emotional anchor” to help them with post-traumatic stress.
He experienced some of this stress in his line of work first-hand: his years overseas “during the height of the Troubles” exposed him to violence few can imagine, which “you were just expected to get on with,” he said.
“My colleagues were shot in the morning, killed in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I was attending their autopsy,” he said. “I found that extremely stressful.”
He said first responders are often taken for granted — “all the services, fire, police, ambulance.”
“There was no counselling for me,” he said. “A lot of people turned to alcohol, some committed suicide, a lot of broken marriages.”
His wife and fellow organizer Bonita Cawker said those years left lasting scars. “I can remember, he’d be thrashing in the night and he’d have nightmares,” she said.
Cawker and Soo-Wiens were inspired after hearing the story of Dwayne Sawyer, president of the service dog unit — a former special forces member who lives with PTSD and credits his service dog with helping him recover. Sawyer will speak at the fundraising event.
“I was in the audience and we thought, yeah, this is a really good cause. We need to do some more,” said Warrack. “For those that it works for, it’s a life-changing event.”
For Coun. Erwin Wiens, a retired police officer, the cause is personal — he’s seen firsthand how years on the job can take a toll.
“We absolutely wanted to get involved,” he said.
The fundraiser is about helping first responders and veterans get support before the weight of trauma builds up, which “just wears on you,” he said.
“After a while, you just try to compartmentalize it,” he said. “Like a layer of paint over a layer of paint.”
Wiens said it’s not uncommon for first responders to handle two or three traumatic calls in a single day.
“Think about the paramedic who goes to an accident — first call, goes to a terrible accident. Then, after that, goes to a heart attack. And then goes to a suicide,” he said.
“Imagine doing that day in and day out.”
The lasting effects of trauma change how a person moves through daily life, Wiens added.
“I still take my seatbelt off 15 seconds before I arrive anywhere, because you have to be ready to go,” he said.
“I still go into restaurants, or buildings, or anywhere — and I sit with my back against the wall. I do strange, stupid things and Dorothy says, ‘Why do you do that?’”
“The trauma gets to you,” he said.
He said he’s grateful to have had access to “an amazing therapist” — something that wasn’t available to him when he started.
“Nowadays, after every horrific call, they bring in trauma people to help you,” he said.
Soo-Wiens recalled the kinds of calls that stayed with him — difficult scenes where, as the tallest officer, he was often the one called to step in and help during the hardest moments.
“It’s unbelievable, the things they have to deal with,” she said.
Although her husband never had a service dog, Soo-Wiens said that experience opened her eyes to how many first responders and veterans may not realize what kinds of help are available — or that something as simple as a dog could change a life.
“This is a way that we can actively help our first responders here that need help,” she said.
The Paws for Heroes fundraiser will take place at 7 p.m on Nov. 1 in a heated private barn.
Several service dogs are coming, including Zeus, an “adorable puppy” currently being socialized before training, Cawker said.
Music by Marty Allen Band from St. Catharines, a silent auction, food and wine will carry the evening, which will be emceed by Joe Pillitteri — “He’s amazing,” said Soo-Wiens.
Every dollar made from tickets and auctions will go toward the dogs and training, since sponsors are covering all event costs.
The good cause has fetched attention, with most of the $800 tables of eight already sold out.
People can still donate at CVSDU.ca, by email at donations@cvsdu.ca, or by phone at 1-888-474-3647.
