Connect with Wounded Animals
Edmonton, AB - Owners are attacking their animals and animals are attacking their owners. So just how can animals and nature heal a person’s wounds?
According to Eileen Bona, Clinical Therapist and Behavior Management Specialist and Executive Director of Dreamcatcher Nature-Assisted Therapy Association, “When an abused person looks in the eye of an abused animal, their souls meet. Working with people in our natural setting who have suffered abuse has given us opportunity to see first hand just how animal and nature - assisted therapy can heal.”
Bona has rescued injured and abused equines and llamas. Their non-profit society located on a 40-acre ranch in Ardrossan, Alberta, uses animals and nature to help children, youth and adults who have disabilities or mental health diagnoses.
Bona continues, “There is an alarming statistic linking domestic violence and animal abuse as presented in a recent workshop called Cruelty / Crime Connection that was held in Edmonton in November 2005. We have been able to help many children and youth who have been abused and are aggressive and abusive to both animals and people. When they see that the animals suffer from disabilities, have had trouble finding a loving home and have also been abused, for example, one horse has no ears and growth-stunting arthritis, one has tumors and one has a history of physical abuse from a previous owner, they soften and open up to the animal and then to us, giving us the chance we need to help them.”
Dreamcatcher Nature-Assisted Therapy Association is currently trying to offer programs specific to the target populations of children and youth who are harming animals because, according to research, there is a chance that those harming animals may one day harm people. They have contacted local police detachments, child services agencies and humane societies and SPCAs to begin an initiative to help these troubled children and youth.
The association also helps children, youth and adults with brain injury, emotional and behavior problems; isolated seniors; people with family problems; youth at risk and those from impoverished environments. Their programs are individualized to fit the needs of those involved and range from individualized therapy sessions involving animals to vocational and educational training focused on farm and ranch work, bush craft, gardening and animal care. Their environment is used in all its shapes and forms to reap the therapeutic benefits of the serenity of nature and the genuine unconditional love of animals. Dreamcatcher Association collaborates with community agencies and groups, as well as family members of those in need, in designing their programs so they are effective and rewarding.
Eileen Bona is a Clinical Therapist and Behavior Management Specialist. She is the Founder of Dreamcatcher Nature-Assisted Therapy Association, a non-profit society that uses animals and nature to help children, youth and adults who have disabilities or mental health diagnoses.