In December dog trainer, Kerstin Hicks, “had the most rewarding feeling of accomplishment ever” when she matched Thor, a boxer mix, with veteran Chris Stagner. “To see him melt right into Chris’s arms …words just can’t express the feeling of happiness it brought to my heart,” explained Kerstin.
At MAP, we strive to make the match process just as rewarding for the trainers because they are so important to our mission. As such, we take great care when choosing the trainer for the veteran. “We look for someone who will identify with the veteran and their family dynamics,” explained Mardu Lydick, Executive Director. “We don’t just drop the dog and go, so it’s important the trainer forms a close bond with the veteran and his/her family for continued support after the match.”
Chris served in the Air Force for 20 ½ years and retired as a master sergeant in the public affairs career field. He then spent one year working for the Air Force as a civilian after he retired and is now a full time student pursuing a BA in English in order to become a high school teacher. Chris’ situation presented a few considerations in the training process. In addition to traditional match training, such as positive reinforcement techniques to teach Thor good manners and behaviors needed to help with PTSD, we needed to get him comfortable being around children, as Chris had two young children in the house and one of them was autistic.
At first, Thor, who is approximately 2 years old and was pulled from the Simi Valley Shelter, was a little fearful and unsure, but Kerstin desensitized him by visiting playgrounds and parks daily for two weeks and then slowly worked their way up to being in close proximity with kids.
During his training, Thor visited more than 125 different places (stores, restaurants, schools, public events, etc) and Thor met more than 250 different people and had at least 50 dog-to-dog interactions. Today, he loves his kids and Thor goes everywhere with them. Thor has also made a special connection with Nathan and has even gone to school with him a few times. Chris also plans to take Thor to school with him and Kerstin has been working with the two of them post-match on how best to navigate the campus and interaction with other students.
“I can’t say enough about the support provided to our family and what a great program this is,” Chris remarked. “The extra effort Kerstin put in is a prime example of why this program is so very important. They could give a vet a trained dog and call it a day as mission accomplished, but the trainers are vested emotionally with the vets and the dogs and do everything they can to ensure the best fit possible. Not only has Thor become a companion to me, but he has also bonded with our autistic son. I never expected him to react to a pet in the fashion he has, but the love he has for Thor is genuine.”
