Thoughts from Chickadee Lane

In these days of difficult news I feel called to write about something that brings us life. Or at least a breath of fresh air. Recently I have been in the presence of two astonishing creatures - Chandler and Echo, who manifest a serenity that resists all chaos, fear and anger's noise. At a recent Legion Convention I sat near Chandler, a six year old Service Dog trained for PTSD and Dave, a veteran living with PTSD. Amid the noisy chaos at the Convention Centre, I watched in awe as Chandler snuggled up to Dave. They are always touching. (See picture) Dave explained that when Chandler senses Dave’s anxiety, Chandler pushes up against Dave, letting Dave know that he is there. When Dave feels the PTSD anxiety he reaches out and touches Chandler. While Dave prefers to stay in the security of his home, Chandler gets Dave outside among people… just the place he needs to be. Then there is Echo - a seven year old black Labrador retriever Seeing Eye dog I met at a recent workshop. Led by h...