THIS DOG CAN CHANGE A VETERAN’S LIFE
Canine in training named for late Army private Jonathan Roberge
lROMINSTRR » Most often the first, and most important, thing we learn about a person or pet is their name.
During an informal puppy meet and greet held Thursday at Leominster’s Johnny Ro Memorial Park, built in remembrance of all the state’s military service members who lost their lives serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the family and friends of Jonathan Roberge, who was killed in action on Feb. 9, 2009 in Iraq, got to know a service dog trained by Clear Path for Veterans New England who is named Johnny Ro.
Several years ago, The Johnny Ro Foundation reached out to Clear Path for Veterans New England to name a dog as part of it donation program in hopes of honoring and remembering
Army Pfc. Roberge who was killed in Mosul, Iraq, at the age of 22 by a suicide car bomber while on patrol in a Humvee.
“Leominster resident and volunteer at the Johnny Ro Memorial Park, Dan Purcell, had
the idea for a service dog named after Jonathan a while back,” said Diane Beaudoin, president of the Johnny Ro Memorial Park, which is located on Mechanic Street in Leominster. “He approached me to see what the thoughts were from the Roberge family. John Roberge (who died of cancer on Oct. 23, 2018) was still with us when I asked him what his thoughts were. John said it would be a great honor to have a service dog named after his fallen son.”
Ryan Burnett, program manager for Clear Path for Veterans New England, said service dogs can make a tremendous difference in a veteran’s life.
“We are a nonprofit organization based out of the old Fort Devens Army Base,” Burnett said. “Our agency provides service dogs to veterans and service members who have been diagnosed with PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, Military Sexual Trauma, and/or Traumatic Brain Injury ( TBI).”
Healing process
Burnett added that with the help of these service dogs, veterans can start the healing process by giving them a connection and bond that cannot be compared to anything else and he was humbled to help remember and honor Jonathan.
“Our Puppy Name Selection Board approved the donation and we named our most recent student to enter training ‘Johnny Ro’ to carry on Jonathan’s legacy,” Burnett said. “We at Clear Path try to name all of our dogs after fallen heroes from the Massachusetts/New England area.”
When Purcell got the OK for a dog named after Johnny Ro, Beaudoin notified the Roberge family, and they were very receptive to the idea.
Jonathan’s mother, Pauline Roberge said she is thrilled to have Jonathan’s name remembered through an adorable puppy who will bring happiness and service to a veteran in need.
“It makes me so happy to know that Jonathan’s name is not forgotten,” Pauline Roberge said. “Jonathan loved dogs, and I know he would have loved this honor, and the many honors he has received in our community.”
Beaudoin shares in Roberge’s sentiments.
“In a way, it means Jonathan’s name will live on, and this special dog will spend his life in service to a fellow veteran,” Beaudoin said. “I hope little Johnny Ro will be a roaring success for his future partner. I know he will make the Roberge family proud.”
Through companionship, training, and trust, dogs have proven to be instrumental in the healing process of these veterans by giving them the tools, they need to better deal with stress levels and emotions and ultimately help the veterans be the person they used to be.
Veterans and military service members who are accepted into the program are integrally involved in the training of their canine right from the start.
“Personal involvement in training of a service dog helps veterans and mili
tary service members improve focus, communication skills, and develops the bond between them and their canine companion,” Burnett said.
There is a lot of time, resources, and energy spent by the Canine Training Team, breeders, veterinarians, volunteers, and staff.
“It takes close to two years to fully train one of our service dogs,” Burnett said. “They are all certified from AKC in Good Canine Citizenship, public access tested, and each dog is trained to a minimum of three related tasks — such as touch, hold, pick up, block, etc. — specially customized to the matched veteran in need.”
Canine pairs are also trained to assist the veterans and military service members with disabilities to learn to recognize such things as elevated heart rate and quickness of breath or disturbed sleep.
“The canine pairs learn how to mitigate these issues by such methods as waking their owner from a nightmare, maintaining their owner’s personal space in public settings, and offering a soothing presence that can help the owner regain composure and control,” Burnett adds.
Burnett stresses that it is important with this process to find the right dog for each veteran and military service member.
“Our staff works with our many partners in order to assist the matching of veterans and military service members with service dogs,” he said. “The evaluation processes in our program are designed to help us get the ‘right’ service dog matched with the ‘right’ veteran/military service member.”
In some cases, Burnett says they may recommend an emotional support dog rather than a service dog.
“We will assist in the locating, placing, and training of emotional support dogs as well,” he said. “Emotional support dogs often come from our puppy program.”
Once completed with all certification phases the veteran and canine are
then considered a “team.”
“Each team will then have follow-up training and annual validation checks to ensure the team is still meeting our standards,” Burnett said. “And we are happy to say that they are with the veteran as their dog for life.”
Clear Path is happy to report that Johnny Ro, affectionately called “Johnny,” is currently in training with one of their canine trainers, Amelia Wendell.
“She will be working with Johnny Ro over the next several months until he is ready to be matched with a possible veteran in which they will continue training, building rapport with the dog to make sure it is a good fit and ultimately complete the training phases to graduation,” Burnett adds.
Beaudoin also added that “the dogs selected to become service dogs are in a way, born to a higher calling of assistance to those in need.”
As a veteran himself, Burnett knows first-hand how dogs help our veterans.
‘Specific tasks’
“Our dogs are trained to do specific tasks that are dependent on that veteran entering our program,” he said. “PTSD is a very comprehensive diagnosis where not every symptom is the same for every veteran. We train our dogs on grounding tasks related to veteran-specific triggers they may see themselves encountering daily. We are constantly thinking outside of the box trying to find ways to mitigate symptoms related to PTSD/MST/TBI.”
Burnett said that words become hard to find when you see a veteran and their dog just “click.”
“You can start to feel the bond and mutual respect build,” he said. “We are training more than a dog; we are making a ‘ team.’ They truly learn how to communicate on a whole different level. It’s really a special thing to watch and be a part of!”
To be eligible for this program, applicants must be a veteran or current military service member; have a diagnosis/disability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and/or Traumatic Brain Injury ( TBI).
Clear Path for Veterans New England is always appreciative of donations and due to COVID-19 restrictions, all fundraisers have been postponed at this time.