The bond of people with animals has for very long been in existence and a lot of cases have been documented, were very strong relationships are forged and they have helped each other overcome tremendous problems. This bond between humans and animals have been a lot stronger with dogs, as dogs have become family members for a lot of people and even friends.
Caleb was in a horrible car crash where he sustained several serious injuries, including a Traumatic Brain Injury, which happens when the brain hits the inside of the inner skull with such force, that millions and millions of brain cells die as a result of the impact. Now, at this point Caleb’s chances, at only 6 years of age did not look very promising; not only did he have to recover from a lot of broken bones, but also his brain recovery was turning out to be very slow and very little.
His family had become discouraged at seeing how low his progress had been and also that ins spite of the doctors’ efforts, the full recovery was still up in the air, as there were big chances that he would stay in that condition and would not recover. His grandmother had even arrived and was deeply saddened at seeing him in such terrible condition.
It was then, that someone suggested “dog-therapy”, the family was willing to give it a shot because they felt they didn’t have anything to lose and had already exhausted what medicine was able to offer them at that time. So, it was arranged and Caleb got his first visit from his new furry friend: Colonel. Colonel is a retriever and from the very first visit, you can tell that there is this sudden change, this leap in response that baffles everyone including the doctors is truly something to behold.
Everyone watches in amazement as Caleb starts to pet Colonel with help from the doctors and almost magically you can see a shift in response. Colonel has truly a therapeutic effect on Caleb and suddenly Caleb starts to do many things in that first session that he hadn’t done before. And even though it is only one session and Caleb will not see Colonel for another month, that session has given him the boost he needs to progress at a much faster rate.
One month goes by and Caleb sees Colonel again and you can see that there is a world of difference and in that second session is almost magical. He and Colonel connect once again immediately and suddenly, it is not like being in a hospital setting anymore, but it is like being in a playground.
