Why I Respect the Work of Rescue French Bulldogs
I really respect the work you do with rescued dogs. I know from my own professional experience how important care, patience and a sense of responsibility can be when a person or an animal has gone through trauma, fear or a difficult period in life.
I am the director of a rehabilitation center for people with drug and alcohol addiction in Ukraine. In our center we use different psychological and social rehabilitation methods, and one of them is animal-assisted therapy. Animals are part of the rehabilitation environment, and residents help take care of them, feed them, walk with them and spend time with them.
For a person recovering from addiction, this is not just a household task. Addiction often destroys responsibility, emotional connection, patience and the ability to care about someone other than yourself. When a person begins to take care of an animal every day, these qualities gradually start to return.
A dog does not care about a person’s past, previous relapses or mistakes. It reacts to what happens now. If you treat it calmly, feed it, walk with it and take responsibility for it, trust begins to form. For many people in rehabilitation this simple contact becomes very important.
I have seen people who found it difficult to talk about their feelings become calmer and more open when they spent time with animals. Sometimes contact with a dog helps reduce tension better than another long conversation. An animal does not judge, argue or demand explanations. It simply responds to care and attention.
We have written about this approach in more detail in an article about animal-assisted therapy in addiction rehabilitation:
That is why I sincerely admire organizations that rescue dogs. In different ways, we are working with a similar idea: recovery is possible when there is safety, patience, care and another chance.
I wish your team and all the dogs you rescue strength, good homes and people who will treat them with the care they deserve.