Sat 28 Nov 2009
Copyright © 2009 Sun Sentinel.
By Mike Clary, Staff writer
 After three tours of duty in Iraq, Marine Lance
Cpl. Eugene Calonge came home to Sunrise with a
feeling common to many military veterans scarred
by the horrors of war: He didn't fit in.
"I was always on edge," said the 29-year-old
security guard.
Then, in a paddock in Davie, Calonge met a
horse. And the horse, named Blue, helped him
relax.
"I remember walking toward the horses and
feeling scared," said Calonge, who saw heavy
fighting in Fallujah. "But pretty quickly I
sensed that this horse had my back, just as I
had his. And that was comforting."
Animal-assisted therapy with horses — and with
dogs, guinea pigs and even ducks — is just one
of the techniques being used to help veterans
diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Last month, President Obama signed into law a
bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ron Klein,
D-Boca Raton, that will provide federal funds to
furnish animals, such as physical therapy dogs
and guide dogs, to service members wounded in
action.
This legislation was inspired by Boca Raton
resident Irwin Stovroff, 86, a former World War
II prisoner of war who started an organization
to train guide dogs for wounded veterans.
Calonge's work with Blue took place at the South
Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center, where
therapists Lorisa Lewis and Shelley Green use
horses to break down barriers often hard to
breach in sterile office settings.
"Guys often come back and feel they can't trust
others," said Lewis. "Yet horses are vulnerable
prey animals, and they are still able to trust.
So it's helpful if veterans can draw those
parallels."
The problem of stress in the U.S. military was
highlighted recently by the mass shooting at the
Fort Hood, Texas, Army base. Thirteen people,
all but one a soldier, were slain and more than
40 were wounded when a man officials identified
as Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan opened
fire.
At least three of those killed were therapists
headed for Afghanistan, Army officials said. Six
of those wounded are part of the 1493rd Combat
Stress Control team to which Hasan was assigned.
But the problem of stress in the military — and
a shortage of mental health counselors —- has
been recognized for years, by Admiral Michael
Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, among
others.
Yet for those on active duty, especially in Iraq
and Afghanistan, asking for help can be seen as
a sign of weakness. That stigma can carry over
to civilian life, too.
Discharged in 2006, Calonge said it took years
for him to seek help for post-traumatic stress
disorder, first at the Miami VA Hospital and
then at the Multi-Purpose Center.
"Being out here, with the horses, takes away
some of that stigma," said Green, a professor of
family therapy at Nova Southeastern University.
Both she and Lewis, who runs a program called
Equine Assisted Growth and Development, said
that although horses are instinctively wary,
they can present a reassuring sense of calm to
equally wary veterans.
That is what Calonge picked up on with Blue.
"In the Marines, we all go around with
attitudes," said Calonge, temporarily living in
New Jersey with his wife and 5-year-old daughter
before a planned return to South Florida. "So I
was approaching people here with that attitude.
I think the horse gave me a perspective on how
to introduce myself, to be more aware of the
attitude I'm portraying."
Near Davie's town center, the Multi-Purpose
Center was opened 20 years ago by Navy veteran
Robert Bambury to assist indigent veterans with
housing and substance abuse counseling. The
nonprofit organization's services are open to
any military veteran, said Bambury.
For more information, the center can be reached
at 954-791-8603. |
