Too much to bear without my Yogi
RON Fenton survived a near fatal gunshot to the head during his 40 years in the police force, a time during which he says he saw “far too many things”.
The 62-year-old lives with posttraumatic stress disorder, but his assistance dog, Yogi, has changed his life.
Yogi is by Mr Fenton’s side in the Epworth Hospital at Waurn Ponds as Mr Fenton recovers from a motorbike crash.
Mr Fenton, who lives at Hoppers Crossing, was participating in a fundraising ride when he was thrown over the handlebars of his machine.
“(I) shattered my body all over. I can’t even describe all the injuries I’ve got,” he said.
Mr Fenton is no stranger to hospitals.
In 1984, while hunting armed offender Kai Veli Korhonen, Mr Fenton’s police car took 27 bullets from a high-powered semiautomatic rifle.
His injuries from the incident were so bad that plans were being made for his funeral.
But Mr Fenton survived and after 11 years of painstaking rehabilitation, he returned to frontline policing, being awarded a Victoria Police Star in 2011.
The shooting was one of many traumatic incidents he endured during his career.
He was also bitten by a man claiming to have HIV and tasked with recovering a baby’s corpse from Williamstown beach.
To help him cope, Mr Fenton has an assistance dog.
“Yogi helps me … stops me from having those night terrors,” Mr Fenton, who was also once a member of the Army Reserve, said.
“He wakes me up before the night terrors take hold, he detects a change in my breathing patterns.
“He will turn on the light … he will climb on the bed and lick my face to wake me up before the night terror takes hold.”
When Mr Fenton was taken to hospital after the motorbike crash, there was no assistance dog policy in place. Without his companion, Mr Fenton experienced night terrors that saw him climb under his bed.
But the hospital acted quickly, allowing Yogi to be with Mr Fenton, who now sleeps with the comfort of his canine companion by his side.
“Twenty nights per month I was only getting one to two hours’ sleep per night (due to night terrors),” he said.
“But now ... when I’ve got him, I get a full night’s sleep which of course increases my health, increases my mood, makes me feel better, and increases my ability to recuperate.”
Mr Fenton’s hospital stay may last for months.
He was taking medication for mental illness before the arrival of his beloved Yogi, but was able to reduce, and then stop, the medication.
Yogi, a purebred American hunting labrador, was trained by prisoners in Bathurst and Mr Fenton acquired him in March through the organisation Young Diggers.
“We’re a complete unit ... we’re like yin and yang, we’re just inseparable basically,” Mr Fenton said. “We’re more than best friends.” He thanked the staff at the Epworth for their help during his recovery.
A crowd-funding page has been set up to assist Mr Fenton and Yogi during his recovery. For more information visit: gofundme.com/ ron-and-yogi-fundraiser