老狗和老兵在一起更好

老狗和老兵在一起更好

A longtime Marine in Vietnam, Detroit veteran Greg Brabaw was living at home with no family and few friends when someone reached out to the Vet Friends Foundation organization (originally called One Last Treat) on his behalf. They thought Brabaw might be a good candidate for the group's program pairing vets with senior dogs looking for homes. Soon, the grizzled Brabaw met Pops, a little Chihuahua.

作為一名在越南服役多年的海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊老兵，底特律老兵格雷格·布拉博住在家里，沒有家人和幾個朋友，這時有人代表他聯(lián)系了獸醫(yī)朋友基金會。他們認為Brabaw可能是一個很好的候選人，該組織的項目是將獸醫(yī)與尋找家的老狗配對。很快，頭發(fā)花白的布拉巴遇到了波普，一只小吉娃娃。

Greg Brabaw and Pops enjoy a sunny moment together. (Photo: Mike Walzak/Vet Friends Foundation)

"Greg was really all alone. When we brought him Pops, he basically opened up to us and told us how much Pops allowed him to think about something other than his own suffering" Joel Rockey, the founder of Vet Friends, tells MNN. "They are pretty much best friends now."

格雷格真的很孤獨。當我們給它買棒棒糖的時候，它基本上對我們敞開了心扉，告訴我們棒棒糖能讓它在痛苦之外思考很多事情。”“他們現(xiàn)在差不多是最好的朋友了。”

The nonprofit, which got started in the summer of 2016, hunts for senior dogs looking to live out the rest of their lives with love and attention. A special program under the group's umbrella finds the dogs homes with veterans and then pays all the pets' health bills.

該非盈利組織成立于2016年夏天，專門尋找那些希望帶著愛和關心度過余生的老年犬。在這個組織的保護傘下，有一個特別的項目，就是把這些狗和退伍軍人一起送回家，然后支付所有寵物的健康費用。

Rockey came up with the idea not long after spending five years in the Navy in Iraq and Afghanistan and returning home. He wanted to focus his energy on something he felt passionate about, and he happened upon an old pug in a snowstorm. The dog was blind, deaf and injured, but Rockey took him home and named him Lurch.

羅基在伊拉克和阿富汗的海軍服役五年，回國后不久就有了這個想法。他想把精力集中在他感興趣的事情上，他在暴風雪中遇到了一只老哈巴狗。這只狗又瞎，又聾，還受了傷，但羅基把它帶回家，給它起名叫勒奇。

"He only lived for three more months, but we gave him a pretty awesome three more months," Rockey says. "I felt really compelled to gear my energy towards animals and how to make their lives better. I liked being there in their last moments, so I called my vet buddies and they were down with the idea."

羅基說:“他只多活了三個月，但我們給了他相當棒的三個月。”“我真的覺得有必要把我的精力放在動物身上，以及如何讓它們的生活變得更好。我喜歡在它們生命的最后一刻待在那里，所以我打電話給我的獸醫(yī)伙伴，他們接受了這個想法。”

Homes

家庭

Veteran Dave Kidder recently adopted his new pal, Peggy Sue. (Photo: Vet Friends Foundation)

Originally, the team planned to bring treats to senior dogs that were about to be euthanized in animal shelters. But shelters didn't want to call attention to the last hours of those dogs, so they had to formulate a new game plan.

最初，這個團隊計劃給即將在動物收容所被實施安樂死的高齡狗狗們帶去食物。但是收容所不想讓人們注意到這些狗最后的幾個小時，所以他們必須制定一個新的計劃。

"We try to pull animals that will be good companion animals ... relaxed and laid-back and not too much going on healthwise," Rockey says. "Maybe they're starting to go downhill a little bit but not knocking on the door." That way the dogs might be with their adopters for at least a few years, he says.

“我們試著拉那些會成為好伙伴的動物……放松，悠閑，不做太多有害健康的事情，”羅基說。“也許他們開始走下坡路了，但沒有預示。”他說，這樣的話，這些狗可能會和收養(yǎng)它們的人在一起至少幾年。

There are currently working with about 30 dog/veteran teams. Supporters often donate to help pay their bills.

目前有大約30只狗/經驗豐富的團隊在工作。支持者經常捐款來支付他們的賬單。

Rockey's own rescue dog, Bandit, was more than 16 years old. (Photo: Vet Friends Foundation)

Rockey says the benefits to the dogs is obvious; they get homes instead of being overlooked. But the benefit to the veterans is unmeasurable.

Rockey說對狗的好處是顯而易見的;他們得到了家，而不是被忽視。但是對退伍軍人的好處是不可估量的。

"The biggest thing is self importance. As a vet myself, I think veterans, when they get out of the military, aren’t asked to do anything anymore," Rockey says. "They start losing self importance. Everyone is thanking them, but they're not being asked to do anything. When they're taking care of a senior animal, they're needed and it creates a new sense of value in their life."

“最重要的是自我重要性。我自己也是一名獸醫(yī)，我認為退伍軍人一旦退伍，就不會再被要求做任何事情。他們開始失去自我重要性。每個人都在感謝他們，但他們沒有被要求做任何事。當他們照顧年老的動物時，他們被需要，這為他們的生活創(chuàng)造了一種新的價值感。”