The Linda Dano Interview - Canine
Companions (Page 1 of 2)
Gary Barg: Tell me what about the “Support Partners
Canine Companions Program”
Linda Dano: In
traveling the country and talking with
thousands of people, we all realized the
vitally important role that our dogs and
cats and animals in general play in our
lives. They can be more than just the
family pet and actually become a part of
your support team in a really valuable,
intense way. For instance, when Frank
died and I went down that terrible road
of depression, the one thing aside from
my support team of girlfriends and
doctors, were my dogs. These dogs were
with me when I was all alone, and
because I had them, I was never
completely isolated. Late at night when
I couldn’t sleep, when I felt no joy and
felt hopeless, they were there. I
had a reason to get up and get out of
bed, which is a key thing for someone
suffering from depression, as you know.
Just any of the little things we take
for granted when we’re feeling good
about ourselves are hard to do; but if
you have a pet, you have to tend to
them: you have to feed them, walk them;
you get away from yourself for a minute.
You have someone to focus on, and we
realized how important this element of
trying to get our lives back is, so we
added canine companions to the Support
Partners Program. It’s really working,
and people are looking at their pets in
a much different light. Animals
help you focus on something other than
how bad things are; you look in the eyes
of an animal and it’s comforting.
GB: What kind of
feedback are you getting from caregivers
about the program?
LD: I was
interviewing a woman in Nashville, and
she was talking about her daughter who
is a Downs-Syndrome child. She has
a cat that sleeps with her daughter. The
mother can see into her daughter’s room
from her own, and she noticed that the
cat jumped off the bed one night and
came to the mother’s door crying, and
then ran back and jumped up on the
girl’s bed. The mother went into her
daughter’s room and discovered she was
having a seizure. So, I believe that God
makes animals to comfort us, to be our
little angels, to help us through bad
times and good times, help unite a
family, and do all the things animals
do. I know that my two dogs were
extremely important, and continue to be
important in my recovery. So with the
Support Partners Program, we decided to
have people talk about this.. We’re not
saying that if you don’t have a dog you
need to go out and buy one because there
are many ways to incorporate a dog into
your life. You can go to a park where
there are a lot of dogs; you can baby a
friend or family member’s dog. It’s the
stroking, it’s the loving; and it all
helps when you’re struggling with
depression.
GB: What is the
Psychiatric Dog Service Society?
The Support Partners
Program, supportpartnersprogram.com,
provides
practical help for the millions of
Americans who are diagnosed with
major depressive disorder, and the
people who care about them. When you
are depressed, you can feel isolated and
alone, which is why having a Support
Partner can make a real difference. A
Support Partner can be anyone who
wants to help a friend or loved one who
has depression
Canine Companions is the newest
component of the Support Partners
Program. Your dog can have a positive
effect on your overall health and
wellbeing.