Military Officer - July 2007 - (Page 67)

MONKEY BUSINESS Dogs already have proven their value as service animals. But soon, wounded servicemembers might get a helping hand from specially trained monkeys. Boston-based Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled recently teamed up with the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to train and place capuchin monkeys with disabled veterans. “Right now, we have 10 to 20 names of possible candidates, and we hope to place the first monkey with a servicemember in 2007,” says Megan Keppeler, CEO and director of placements. Monkey helpers serve as “hands” for individuals with moderate to severe mobility impairments, Keppeler says. “This can be someone who has use of [his or her] hands but cannot retrieve something that drops on the floor or out of reach, or someone who is quadriplegic,” she explains. Capuchin monkeys are particularly qualified to assist the disabled, she says, because of their intelligence, curiosity, and dexterity. “Helping Hands monkeys also provide valuable companionship to individuals in need,” Keppeler adds. “They have an affinity for humans, and their small size makes them wonderful home companions.” For further information, visit the Helping Hands Web site at www.monkeyhelpers.org. from PTSD, which makes it difﬁcult for him to leave home alone. But Archie, Rankin says, has made all the difference in the world. “Archie knows about 200 commands,” Rankin says. “He’s specially trained to assist the physically disabled, and he does a lot for me. He takes my shoes on and off, brings me my clothes and helps me get dressed and undressed, turns lights on and off, and opens doors.” Archie also helps Rankin in other ways. “He helps pick me up if I fall,” Rankin says. “And he helps balance me out by pushing against my leg. It took him a long time to learn that, because service dogs are trained to be within two to three feet of their owners so they don’t trip them. I needed a dog that would bump up against my leg if I started to lose my balance, and he’ll do that now.” PHOTO: COURTESY HELPING HANDS STAFF Archie also helps Rankin cope with his PTSD. “That wasn’t taught, it’s just something he picked up on,” Rankin says. “He can smell the chemical change in my body, and he knows something is wrong, so he’ll put his head in my lap or bump my hand to bring me out of whatever is going on.” Service dogs occasionally are trained to meet speciﬁc needs. One veteran who applied to NEADS/ Dogs For Deaf And Disabled Veterans had lost an arm and needed a dog to help retrieve items, carry his textbooks when he returned to college, assist him with heavy doors RESOURCES and — perhaps most important — take some of the emphasis off of his disability. “We hear that a lot,” O’Brien notes. “Facilitating social interaction is a big part of what the dogs do, in addition to the mechanics of helping. People say to us that [the public] sees the dog ﬁrst, the person second, and the wheelchair third.” “Dogs deﬁnitely take the focus off of the individual, which is a great beneﬁt,” agrees Bressler. “When they’re at Walter Reed, these guys are among other amputees. But when they go home to, say, Fargo, N.D., they may be the only amputee within 100 miles. In a lot of ways, that can be isolating. But a dog makes a great icebreaker. It offers an opportunity for people to start interacting with you.” The growing number of wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has inspired veterans from past conﬂicts to raise funds for and awareness of the need for service dogs. Members of the BVA are active in this endeavor, says Miller, as are many others. In Florida, for example, a World War II POW and a Purple Heart recipient from the Korean War took it upon themselves and their condominium community to raise more than $200,000 for the Guide Dog Foundation’s VetDogs Project. “These individuals and others like them are very concerned about the younger guys getting wounded now,” says Bressler. “We’re starting to see a lot of Vietnam veterans supporting our program, because they don’t want to see the guys [coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan] go through what they went through when they came home.” MO ■ Blinded Veterans Association: (800) 669-7079, www.bva.org ■ Guide Dog Foundation’s VetDogs Project: (866) 838-3647, www.vetdogs.org ■ NEADS/Dogs For Deaf And Disabled Americans: (978) 422-9064, www.neads.org ■ Patriot Paws Service Dogs: (972) 772-3282, www.patriotpawsservicedogs.org ■ Southeastern Guide Dogs’ Paws for Patriots: (800) 944-3647, www.guidedogs.org J U LY 2 0 0 7 MILITARY OFFICER 67 http://www.monkeyhelpers.org http://www.bva.org http://www.vetdogs.org http://www.neads.org http://www.patriotpawsservicedogs.org http://www.guidedogs.org

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Military Officer - July 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: In Focus After the Kim Dynasty Animal House Paying Tribute MOAA Member Services Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - July 2007

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