POPPY PUPS
Anzac appeal to fund assistance dogs
Veterans will received a helping hand when this year’s annual Poppy Appeal collected funds to help train assistance dogs for servicemen and women with posttraumatic stress.
The Kotuku Foundation Assistance Animals Aotearoa (KFAAA) and its founder Merenia Donne joined forces with the RSA in 2015 to select and train dogs set for the task.
But finding the right canine companions was no easy task.
Auckland borzoi breeder Sarahlee Shanly vowed to make the task easier by donating puppies to become the next specialised canine companions.
The need for assistance dogs comes at a time when 75 per cent of New Zealand’s veterans with mental health injuries, including posttraumatic stress disorder, are under the age of 45.
Mental health injuries were the most common, but least understood, of all wounds suffered by New Zealand servicemen and women, the RSA said.
Donne said this year’s Poppy Appeal theme – Not all wounds bleed – highlighted the mental health wounds that her dogs help veterans overcome.
‘‘There are many younger servicemen and women now who have sustained unseen wounds from service.
‘‘Their injuries and their service are as valid as those who have experienced trauma.’’
She said the russian wolfhounds set to join the Canine Comrades programme would make an excellent match for the KFAAA’s clients as the breed had already proven itself with 65 veterans in the United States.
The dogs’ nature, large size, long life and independent personality made them ideal for New Zealand veterans. Each dog was worth at least $3000, Donne said.
‘‘We are keen to ensure more qualifying veterans in need of a KFAAA dog, who would be a good fit for a borzoi, can benefit.’’
As a charity-run organisation it’s a costly affair to help these veterans, Donne said.
The RSA’s annual Poppy Appeal will this year help with the costs of their training, food, boarding, vaccinations and microchips.