‘Dogface soldier’ finds a new duty fostering pups
When he was 18, Omar Brooks left home in Canonsburg to enlist in the Army. His training took him to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where every morning after reveille at 0630, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division sang “Dogface Soldier” — a World War II paean to the grit of the grunts.
“... I’m just a dogface soldier, with a rifle on my shoulder, and I eat raw meat for breakfast every day ...”
The 3rd Division was among the first wave of ground forces to invade Iraq from Kuwait, and Mr. Brooks was the first from his platoon to drive across the border in a vehicle armed with eight missiles and a .50-caliber machine gun. He dodged bullets and lost friends and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the service in 2003.
He struggled for 15 years to fill the hole in his soul left by his military service. Then, two years ago, this dogface soldier started working with Bridge to Home Animal Rescue in Eighty Four, Washington County. Fostering dogs and finding them homes have helped Mr. Brooks, now 40 and a state corrections officer, to navigate the treacherous terrain of daily life during a pandemic.
“Without sounding like a softie, there is something to be said about puppy kisses and seeing unconditional love in a time where people need to see more unconditional love,” he said.
Mr. Brooks, his wife, Nicole Malesic, and daughters Zaida, 5, and Waverly, 2, have fostered 16 dogs over the past two years. They frequently make videos and do photo shoots of the animals to encourage adopters on social media. As COVID-19 has spread, they and other fosters have been especially busy while dog and cat adoptions have risen sharply nationwide.
“People are looking to enrich their homes,” he said. “People are getting dogs or cats or different companions for their homes because we are dealing with a time that’s unprecedented.”
Prisons have become hot spots for coronavirus outbreaks, which adds another level of stress for anyone working at a maximumsecurity prison. Mr. Brooks said the dogs help melt it away for him and his family. The dogs they’ve brought home have been a buoy for the girls after schools closed and playing with other kids was no longer an option.
“It’s been tough trying to keep them busy and doing social things, so having the dogs has definitely helped to keep them busy and happy,” Ms. Malesic said. “It’s definitely helped with morale around the house because we can only do so many things without being able to go anywhere.”
Her husband agreed. “They’re highly rejuvenated when they know a dog is coming. There’s a level of energy inside the home again,” he said.
“This absolutely without a doubt has sparked joy — like Marie Kondo would say — in our kids’ lives. Our 2-year-old loves every dog. She wants to hug every single one of them. But they understand that we can’t keep the dogs. Our job is to find a quality home for these dogs. If that wasn’t the case, we’d have 16 dogs today.”
Ironically, he was not a dog person growing up, he said as he and his daughters interacted with Maisie Mae, a sweet and gentle 3-year-old pit bull-beagle mix rescued from Kentucky. They played on the back porch of Bridge to Home co-founder Tracey Crompton, who notes that Bridge to Home has fostered 1,500 dogs since its start in 2017.
“I remember running from dogs and being chased by dogs as a kid,” Mr. Brooks said. “I never really had a positive dog experience as a kid.”
But he hasn’t found any other endeavor that gives him so much satisfaction since he left the service as a sergeant.
“You never really find a complete fit after the military,” he said. “No matter what you do, you go from really feeling like you have a purpose and a duty and you’re really fulfilling God’s work or your nation’s work maybe. You get back home and … you never really feel that. Now, some people fill that void as state police or firefighters or emergency response people or medical staff professionals. But for me, I never found that thing to complete that void.”
He earned an associate’s degree from ITT Technical Institute, worked in a management position for Lowe’s, took a stab at his own business and did charity work for women’s shelters and Citizens Library in Washington, Pa.
“No job could fill the void from leaving the service, but I could always circle back to charity. That was the one constant. The Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, service, honor, integrity and personal courage — charity seemed like it filled that void for me.”
When he and his wife discovered Bridge to Home, Mr. Brooks found what he had been searching for since he left the Iraqi desert.
“These dogs would not have a life. Then when you see them happy …,” he said, his voice trailing off.
The moment that sealed it, he said, was when he helped a family with a foster daughter adopt a dog he’d fostered.
“When I saw this dog and this girl get together, something within me just broke,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is something bigger than myself.’
“We have this tradition when we bring them home. I always give them a bath — this tough former Army guy. If they’re gonna be in my house, they get a bath. … It’s a rite of passage.
“My wife and I have this unspoken contest to see who the dogs will like more. We keep track of who’s winning. It’s her, but sometimes they gravitate towards me.”
Ms. Crompton said he’s a natural. “You cannot find a better guy than him. We’re honored. You’ll see the dogs wrapped around his neck. He’s just a great guy.”
They don’t have a family dog at the moment and are sometimes tempted to keep a foster dog.
“We had a big bulldog who was a protector, and I wanted to keep him, but he wasn’t the right fit for this house. He was the right fit for this single guy who just needed something in his life. So you find these stories where you feel like you’re a part of something bigger,” Mr. Brooks said.
“Friends at work are always asking, ‘How can you get rid of them?’ But how can you not? ... We’re not trying to get rid of dogs. We’re trying to find the perfect match. So when those line up, it’s worth it. And then we’re ready for the next one.
“If you have space in your home and space in your heart, please consider fostering … especially during a time like right now when we’re in a crisis. We can be safe and love each other and help each other. It’s one of the best things you can do.”
Schererville resident Tiffany Leigh’s chihuahua Millie is generally attached to her, but never more so than during the coronavirus pandemic that has left many people working from home.
They’re basically inseparable now.
“She figured out how to climb onto the back of the couch that’s near the edge of my desk, so she can be as close to me as possible all day,” Leigh said. “I’ve been working from home a little over four months now, and will be at home at least until October. She’s always had separation anxiety, and I know I need to do something to help her phase back into me being gone. But it’s so hard.”
Region residents have been spending a lot more time at home with their pets since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in mid-March and the state imposed a stay-athome order. They’ve formed stronger emotional bonds with their pooches, become more attuned to their cats, and grown more attached to their puppies, who are after all such good boys. Some have been around their pets nearly 24/7 to the point where their furry friends get extreme separation anxiety when they leave even on a brief jaunt to the grocery store, chewing up furniture and going to the bathroom in the house.
More people bored at home have been buying puppies to keep them company, said Bob Fleming, owner of Landheim Training And Boarding Center in Dyer, which also breeds German shepherd puppies.
“For us there was a big influx,” Fleming said. “We thought the economy’s doing poorly, nobody’s working, but we were just slammed for requests, both for puppies and all of our classes for new dogs. It was a little bit of a phenomenon. People were deciding since they had to spend so much time at home they might as well get a dog.”
The lockdown also resulted in more people taking their pets to local veterinarians, such as to treat allergies or leg injuries.
“We’ve definitely seen an uptick in care for pets and veterinary medicine, especially during the first three months,” said Dr. Matthew Szalay at Coyne Veterinary Center in Crown Point. “We performed a lot of orthopedic surgeries. People spent more time at home and got sick of watching their dogs limp around all day. Being able to observe their pets more, dog owners are a little more in tune with abnormalities and get them treated earlier.”
That helps lead to better outcomes, Szalay said.
“We would prefer to treat something that’s starting so we can intervene sooner, not something that’s already set on fire,” he said.
Region residents also have been bringing their pets in to the vet for more general health exams.
“The biggest thing is they’re paying more close attention to their pets,” Szalay said. “They notice that a dog is not putting the full weight on a leg. They notice earlier the abnormalities that might be affecting a pet’s quality of life.”
Pets have had it pretty good lately, having grown acclimated to spending more time at home with their owners getting petted and belly-rubbed during an era of social distancing.
“Pets have never been happier,” Szalay said. “One positive of COVID is that it deepens the human-animal bond when people are at home with the pets. Pets are now part of the family and they’re getting a lot more attention.”
It may be a difficult adjustment the first few weeks after they return to the office.
“Separation can cause some bad effects, such as the destruction of household items,” he said. “You could take them to a day care. You can take dogs out for more walks to get their energy out as they get used to the new household structure. If you can, check in on the pet midday the first few weeks after you return to work. They were used to a different way of life.”
If necessary, pet owners also could try CBD or go to a vet to get anti-anxiety medication prescribed.
Pet owners should start preparing now by locking their dog up in cages or crates and leaving them alone for awhile to get them used to it, Fleming said.
“Many people haven’t even thought about it yet,” he said. “But you need to prepare them for that return for normalcy.”
He encouraged dog owners to create positive associations with cages by placing their food bowl in there at feeding times, letting them leave whenever they want, and placing their toys in there to pull out.
It’s not necessary to keep them caged up for the full length of a work day, just for long enough to get used to being alone at home.
“Dogs aren’t really good at telling time,” he said. “They don’t know if you’ve been gone for 10 minutes or five hours. They just know you’re not there and they’re home alone.”
Pet owners can use interactive toys to keep their dogs busy while they’re gone, especially balls that dispense treats or let them lick peanut butter if rolled the right way.
“At first you might want to have a family member check in on the dog after your return to work,” he said. “You want to make sure the dog is used to the cage and not biting at it to try to get out. They could bust their teeth.”
A survey by Mira-Pet, which makes ultrasound toothbrushes for dogs, found 26% of Indiana residents fear separation anxiety when they do return to their workplace and spend less time at home. About 73% of those surveyed said their pet helped their mental health during the lockdown, 38% said they would even consider a small pay cut so they could keep working from home with their pet, and that 74% found their animal’s hygiene level was higher.
Only 17% of the survey’s respondents said their pet distracted them from their work, and 65% said they appreciated the companionship the pet provided through a stressful, uncertain time.
But people won’t continue to work from home forever and need to have a plan for a transition that could be ruff.
“Not only will your pet find it difficult to readjust to their human not being around, as a pet owner, you are likely to experience similar feelings of separation anxiety from your warm, compassionate furry friend,” said Stephen Spector, CEO of Techmira Corp, Mira-Pet’s parent company. “To ease the emotional stress you may feel, if you have a housekeeper or loved one who is home during the day, you could ask them to video call you so you can check in on your pet. If you live alone, this option is slightly trickier but not impossible as there are also an abundance of devices available online, such as webcams specifically for your pets.”