After serving in the Marine Corps on the Reconnaissance team during the Vietnam War, Dan Van Buskirk dedicated his life to helping military veterans transition back to civilian life and develop healthy coping skills to heal from the emotional trauma they experienced after war. Dan is the founder of the 501(c)3 non-profit organization, HAVEN - Hounds and Vets Empowered Now, where he helps military veterans find the support they need through the beneficial relationships forged with dogs. Dan is also an active member of Guitars for Vets, an organization devoted to helping veterans cope with post-war trauma through the healing power of music.

Linda Bobot is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer with over 20 years of experience in training service dogs and therapy dogs as well as beloved pets. Linda is the Executive Director and Lead Trainer at HAVEN and is responsible for teaching veterans how to train their personal dogs to become service dogs. With an extensive family history of military veterans, which includes her father and brother, Linda is passionate about helping veterans and their loved ones cope with trauma and find comfort in the love, hope, and assistance that service dogs provide.

Dan and Linda join us today to discuss the sacred connection and relationship between veterans and their dogs. Dan shares how dogs were used to detect traps and enemy fire in combat and how they became valuable members of military teams. They discuss how dogs can help veterans take control of their emotions, responses, and expectations. and how dogs help veterans diffuse powerful negative emotions like feeling inadequate and survivor’s guilt. They also discuss the dog selection process that takes place between veterans and their service dogs, how our dogs reflect our feelings and emotions, and how HAVEN helps veterans choose the perfect dog for their needs.

“The relationship between a veteran and their dog is almost a sacred experience.” - Dan Van Buskirk

This week on the Stigma Free Vet Zone Podcast:

The role that dogs played throughout Dan’s experience in VietnamThe deep, trusting relationships often developed between veterans and dogsHow dogs help veterans learn how to control their emotions, responses, and expectationsWhat ‘clicker training’ is and how they use this training method to train service dogs for veteransThe benefits of positive reinforcement training for dogs as well as veteransWhy Dan believes expectations ‘destroy beings’How Linda became involved with HAVEN and what inspired her to begin working with veterans and dogsHow veterans choose the service dogs they want to work withHow your feelings and emotions are reflected in animalsThe future outlook of HAVEN

Resources Mentioned:

Guitars for Vets: Healing Invisible Wounds of War Through Music & Pet Companions with Dan Van BuskirkFreedom Service DogsMy Animal, My Self: A Breakthrough Way to Understand How You and Your Animal Reflect Each Other book by Marta Williams

Helping Veterans & Their Families Transition to Civilian Life

Thanks for tuning into this segment of the Stigma Free Vet Zone podcast, the show dedicated to helping veterans and their families make the transition from the military to civilian life and culture. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe to the show and leave a review. For more stories, insight, and resources on coping with military-related trauma and PTSD, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. Don’t forget to share your favorite episodes across social media to help us raise awareness and help our brothers and sisters and their families transition to civilian life.